Natural Gas Fired Power Plants and Pipelines Fuel Jobs and Economic Growth in Ohio
Over the past few months, there have been a number of announcements regarding major projects that will bring thousands of jobs and economic growth to Ohio.
Just last month JobsOhio announced that a new ethane cracker would be coming to Belmont County. Last week, we learned that investment by the oil and natural gas industry has grown to $28 billion, representing a 40 percent increase since last fall, according to a new report by Bricker & Eckler LLP. As Matt Warnock, of that firm stated,
“Further — and somewhat surprising — we haven’t seen any significant slowdown in the number of high-dollar projects. All of this bodes well for Ohio, particularly the southeastern region of the state,” he said in the company’s fourth Utica Shale economic report.” (emphasis added)
Attorney Aaron Bruggeman added,
“We continue to see an increase in the number of pipeline projects, particularly interstate lines, gathering facilities, compressor stations and related investment.” (emphasis added)
Utica Shale investment grew from $12.2 billion in the fall of 2013 to $22.3 billion by fall of 2014. Just what are these projects and how much will they bring to Ohio communities?
Below is a list of several projects that have been announced and are making their way through various federal and state regulatory processes.
| Pipeline Company | Project | Investment | Miles |
| Columbia Pipeline Group | LEACH Xpress | $1.4 Billion | 161 |
| Spectra Energy | OPEN | $468 Million | 76 |
| Spectra Energy | NEXUS | $1.5 Billion | 250 |
| Energy Transfer | Rover | $4.3 Billion | 711 |
| Kinder Morgan | UTOPIA East | $500 Million | 240 |
| Kinder Morgan | Utica Marcellus Texas | $412 Million | 200 |
| EQT | Ohio Valley Connector | TBD | 50 |
| Buckeye Partners | Michigan Ohio | TBD | TBD |
| Totals | $8.58 Billion | 1688 | |
| Natural Gas Power Plant | |||
| Company | Project | Investment | Megawatts |
| Advanced Power Services | Carroll County Energy | $900 Million | 700 |
| Oregon Clean Energy LLC | Oregon Clean Energy | $860 Million | 799 |
| NTE Energy | Middletown Energy Center | $500 Million | 525 |
| Rolling Hills | Rolling Hills Generating Station | $700 Million | 1414 |
| Clean Energy Future Lordstown | Clean Energy Future | $800 Million | 800 |
| NRG Energy | (pipeline to convert Nat Gas) | $40 Million | TBD |
| Totals | $3.8 Billion | 4238 |
State regulators recently told lawmakers they expect 4300 megawatts of electricity to flow from new gas-fired power plants by 2019. These plants will bring $3.8 billion in investment, over 2,500 jobs, and power over 3.5 million homes.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy recently approved of the Dominion Cove Point LNG Export Terminal, which will be the closest terminal to the Appalachian Basin. This new terminal will export 770 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas per day for 20 years. When combined with the impressive production out of Utica basin, new infrastructure coming on line, and a pathway to export natural gas to international markets, there is simply no doubt that the story of Ohio’s shale development is still unfolding and becoming increasingly exciting to watch.
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