West Virginia lagging in gas-fired power plant development
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
In recent years, Ohio has built 19 gas-fired power plants and Pennsylvania has built 22. West Virginia, on the other hand, has built none. If natural gas is the future of generating electricity, West Virginia is missing an opportunity, state Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher said, according to The Exponent Telegram.
Not only is West Virginia lacking a gas-fired power plant, the only one it has on the drawing board is tied up in a court battle. According to Thrasher, the rising cost of energy in the state is making it harder to attract new business and industry.
Given the vast amounts of natural gas in the state, the disparity between West Virginia and its neighbors, Ohio and Pennsylvania, seems extreme. State and local government officials believe West Virginia’s lag is a result of its higher property taxes and increased regulation.
Learn more: The Exponent Telegram > West Virginia behind the curve in developing gas-fired power plants
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What is fracking?
Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing is a process by which highly pressurized fluid is pumped thousands of feet into the ground to fracture rock formations. The goal is to release the natural gas that’s locked inside the rock.
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What most concerns people about fracturing is ground water contamination. The worry is that fractures underground, caused by the process, will extending upwards and into aquifers, releasing gas and chemicals into the ground water supply. There’s been no confirmed reports of such a thing happening. Though surface spills and drill site blowouts can lead to localized environmental concerns.
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Flammable water is caused by the release of methane gas into a drinking water supply. Methane gas occurs naturally and can be released by any kind of drilling, including water wells. In Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy $1 million for contaminating ground water with methane. It was determined that the company had not properly cemented it’s boreholes and gas migrated up the well, between rock and into aquifers.