OP-ED: Building on our energy foundation
The Pennsylvania Senate Majority Policy Committee recently conducted a hearing in Pittsburgh to examine energy access and affordability in Pennsylvania. Chaired by Sen. Dan Laughlin, a Republican of the 49th Senatorial District, the committee requested testimony from business, labor, and energy leaders to gain insight into energy policy and the practical development of the commonwealth’s energy portfolio. The Washington County Chamber of Commerce was invited to offer remarks concerning future opportunities and challenges for energy’s growth in our state.
As we relayed to the committee, the revolution in natural gas production over the past 15 years has been astonishing. Prior to the discovery of the Marcellus Shale formation, Pennsylvania was an energy importing state. Every year, the state produced only about one-quarter of its annual natural gas needs. However, thanks to the emergence of this resource, Pennsylvania is now a net energy exporter, and the second leading natural gas producing state in the country. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that Pennsylvania is responsible for more than 20 percent of all the natural gas produced domestically, a remarkable transformation.
More importantly, Pennsylvania’s natural gas is some of the most environmentally responsible gas in the world. Our gas is produced under strict environmental regulations and industry best practices, including prioritizing methane leak detection and repair, deploying electric drilling and fracking rigs at well sites, and monitoring emissions at drilling production and midstream gathering, processing, or transportation facilities.
The results of these efforts have been clear as documented by a 2022 report by the Clean Air Task Force and Ceres. The report notes that while natural gas development has continued to grow across Appalachia, greenhouse gas emission intensity has decreased. The industry itself has been a leader in reducing emissions, because while the environmental benefits are important, every molecule of methane that escapes into the atmosphere is one more than cannot be brought to market.
In addition to the success seen by the natural gas industry, we have also witnessed a strong resurgence in coal production. Both the overall volume of coal and market price have seen substantial increases over the past 12 months with strong demand from both domestic and global markets. CONSOL Energy, for example, reported production and revenue increases in 2022 bolstered by stronger demand for the coal used in both electricity production and steel manufacturing.
Pennsylvania has played an important role in energy production since the discovery of oil in Venango County more than 150 years ago. Our natural resources have helped to power the industrial revolution, manufacture the steel that built our nation, and will continue to drive advanced manufacturing and plastics production into the 21st century. To position the commonwealth as a leader in manufacturing and innovation, policy makers must ensure that our job creators have access to clean, abundant, and affordable energy resources. In addition, it is equally important that Pennsylvania cultivates a welcoming climate for businesses by providing competitive and predictable regulatory and tax frameworks that encourage job creators and innovators to locate here. The power to prosper is right under our feet so let’s build our future on that foundation.
Kotula is the president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce.