Jul 17, 2025 By Jeff Kotual 3 min read

The Greater Pittsburgh Region has a storied history of forging new industries. Steel, coal, natural gas, glass production and even the advanced health care and financial sectors can all trace their origins to our region. These industries were capitalized by local corporate leaders, advanced through the tremendous work ethic of countless local families, and created the foundation for the high quality of life we enjoy today.

However, for our region to continue its leadership role, we must look to combine our existing industrial successes with new opportunities to create economic growth. That is why U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick’s recent Pennsylvania Energy & Innovation Summit was such an important initiative for both our region and our commonwealth.

On Tuesday, McCormick hosted leaders in the energy, labor, artificial intelligence, technology, and public sectors – highlighted by remarks from President Trump – at Carnegie Mellon University to focus on our energy resources and position our state as a leader in utilizing energy to fuel the growth in the artificial intelligence sector.

Our state, led by Washington County, has been at the center of the Marcellus Shale revolution in domestic natural gas production for more than 20 years. In addition to securing our country’s energy independence, this sector has developed infrastructure, attracted suppliers to our area, and created thousands of new jobs. Equally, Pittsburgh has established itself as a center for technological development and is positioned at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence, robotics, and other advanced computer technologies. This confluence of energy and technology in our region is poised to have positive impacts on our power grids, data centers, and enhance efficiency, quality, and sustainability in advanced manufacturing. For the energy industry itself, A.I. will optimize energy production and usage, increase battery and storage efficiency, allowing for more efficiency in running our nation’s power grid.

As McCormick stated, “There’s no question that the path to American energy dominance runs directly through Pennsylvania, and this summit will celebrate all our commonwealth has to offer.” But the senator is doing more than celebrating our state; he is advancing a vision of a new partnership between foundational industries like manufacturing and energy, integrated with the technological improvements made possible by A.I. development. By utilizing the vast energy resources we have “right under our feet” in combination with new technologies, there is virtually no limit to the economic opportunities and growth our region can create. To highlight this opportunity, McCormick announced over $90 billion in investments during the summit corresponding with GE Vernova’s multimillion-dollar, high-voltage switchgear investment at its facility in Charleroi, which is anticipated to create 250 jobs in the Mon Valley and strengthen our electrical grid.

Just as our area built the world with coal and steel and now powers it with natural gas, we have a new opportunity for global leadership through the union of A.I. and energy. We can create a new industrial revolution, a new legacy, with its epicenter in our region, but it starts with shared vision followed by coordinated action.

Jeff Kotula is president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce.