Federal tax credits for hydrogen and ammonia projects are complicated. Our new calculator helps advocates make sense of the regulatory and funding landscape surrounding 45V and 45Q: https://ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/a-climate-advocates-guide-to-calculating-45v-and-45q-tax-credits/

"A powerful, concentrated group of fossil fuel corporations are not only dominating global emissions but are actively sabotaging climate action." - @tzeporah.bsky.social

💬 "Expanding oil and gas development beneath wildlife areas without stronger safeguards puts public health at risk, worsens methane pollution and undercuts Ohio’s opportunity to lead in a changing energy economy." https://ow.ly/BMMH50Y1e9T

☢️ The toxic waste beneath our feet: Millions of gallons of #fracking waste, known to cause cancer, is stored under eastern Ohio. https://www.ideastream.org/2026-01-20/fracking-produces-a-lot-of-wastewater-millions-of-gallons-of-it-are-stored-under-eastern-ohio

From Weirton to Parkersburg, leaders are questioning Gov. Morrisey's commitment to power-hungry data centers while West Virginians struggle with “sky-rocketing grocery bills, crushing health care costs and out-of-control energy bills.”

Announcements are easy. Following through is much more difficult. 😬 Pennsylvania's multibillion-dollar investment in power-hungry data centers looks a lot like other overhyped—and ultimately failed—promises, from hydrogen hubs to petrochemical clusters, Sean O'Leary says: https://ow.ly/uJrg50Y0iro

Electricity prices are rising faster for families than for data centers and industrial customers. It's "fundamentally unfair."

A Texas company has been approved to frack wildlife areas in eastern Ohio. Will local communities see much economic benefit? Not likely, our research shows. https://ow.ly/VYcN50XXjYP

Commentary: The Wayne National Forest is Ohio's only national forest, and remains a sanctuary for people who need an escape from their hectic lives. But Ohio officials are now looking to lease 41 oil and gas parcels, totaling 2,795 acres ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/01/14/w...

The 15 richest Americans got 33% richer in 2025 — far outpacing average Ohioans: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/01/07/the-15-richest-americans-got-33-richer-in-2025-far-outpacing-average-ohioans/

Map shows growing number of data centers planned across Pennsylvania https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/12/data-centers-pennsylvania-map-emilia-doda-environment/

🤔 Worse service for more money? Ohio utility companies are lobbying for looser reliability rules as rates continue to climb. 🚩 K.M. Kowalski

U.S. emissions bucked a 2-year trend and once again increased last year. Here’s what power generation suggests about what’s to come.

Green steel has an uncertain year ahead. Here’s what @mariagallucci.bsky.social predicts will happen: ➡️ Coal-fueled furnaces will continue firing up ➡️ Scrap recycling will scale with clean energy ➡️ Global pressure for greener steel will only grow

The fight for energy affordability could be the defining issue of 2026 as the data center bubble continues to grow. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/08012026/inside-clean-energy-what-to-expect-in-2026/

Congress’ minibus bill would loot funds designated to clean up dangerous mine damage, placing America’s coal communities further at risk.

“When your electric bill is higher than your house payment, there’s something wrong.” Electricity costs are soaring in West Virginia: https://ow.ly/Klnm50XSCix

Congress is trying to loot America’s fund to clean up dangerous mines, placing coal communities at risk. https://ow.ly/f6h050XTcWl

💰 Data centers in Virginia receive nearly $1B in tax cuts each year, per Good Jobs First. “This is $1 billion less for food assistance, public health care, roads, schools...Instead, these public dollars are benefiting some of the most profitable companies in the world.” https://ow.ly/MkXm50XSC2U

What happens to Pennsylvania's toxic fracking waste? Inside Climate News reports.

More than 1,500 workers will soon be out of a job as BlueOval SK's EV battery venture in Kentucky comes to an abrupt end. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/money/companies/2025/12/23/blueoval-sk-kentucky-layoffs-worker-reactions-ford-motor-company/87825038007/

I am SO late to this but this @emdashsanders.bsky.social piece (edited by @emorwee.bsky.social) is great: a deep dive into Exxon's use of dodgy CCS promises to justify fossil gas fuelled power stations to run data centres A set of keywords that makes me click so hard my mouse shatters into pieces 💥

👀 Shell, BP, and other oil majors have been peddling false climate promises for decades, according to a new report from Center for Climate Integrity. Check out their new inventory of Big Oil's Deceptive Climate Ads here: https://ow.ly/EgRE50XS4zX

According to a new report from @ohiorivvalleyinst.bsky.social the US primary steel industry risks falling further behind in a rapidly decarbonizing global market. ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/falling-furt...

U.S. steel risks falling behind as global markets shift to green steel, according to report by @ohiorivvalleyinst.bsky.social. Nippon Steel’s $11B investment could help—but will it modernize the U.S. steel industry or just maintain status quo? #CleanSteel #ClimateAction #Manufacturing

The Clairton Coke Works has a long history of unsafe working conditions, large incidents, permit violations, and a reputation for cancelling and deferring much-needed upgrades. https://ow.ly/vSLQ50XNPyN

Demand for blue hydrogen appears to be dwindling. ExxonMobil has paused plans to build what would be one of the world's largest gas-based blue hydrogen plants in Baytown, Texas, citing difficulty finding offtake contracts: https://ow.ly/V4CH50XNPB7

The August explosion that killed two and injured ten at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works is the plant’s fourth explosion in recent years. Now, the US Chemical Safety Board’s ongoing investigation into the explosion could be threatened by funding cuts: https://ow.ly/c3K450XNPtK

Ford plans to lay off all 1,500 workers at its EV battery plant in Glendale, KY after dissolving its joint venture with SK On and pivoting to utility-scale battery energy storage systems.

The U.S. steel industry is falling behind as the global market shifts toward cleaner production. Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel could help reverse it, with $6.5B in upgrades planned across PA and IN: https://ow.ly/NSV850XNOri

'We liken it to a divorce': Workers detail BlueOval SK's final days — https://www.courier-journal.com/story/money/companies/2025/12/23/blueoval-sk-kentucky-layoffs-worker-reactions-ford-motor-company/87825038007/

📈 What's driving higher utility bills? Increased exports of liquified natural gas (LNG) for one, according to a new analysis of federal data. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17122025/liquefied-natural-gas-exports-driving-up-energy-bills/

Even in the darkest of times, we’re grateful to have wins and accomplishments worth celebrating—milestones, partnerships, and commitments meaningful to our team and, hopefully, to our community. Read our full 2025 in Review on our website: https://ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/2025-in-review/

From 2008-2023, Appalachia's fracking counties saw booming GDP growth coupled with net declines in jobs & population. “A similar economic trend is likely to appear in regions where data centers pop up,” Sean O'Leary writes: https://ow.ly/sJlQ50XKozR

The new Appalachian Flood Resilience Coalition aims to drive policy change and investment to bolster disaster response, support low-income households, improve flood mapping and data, and pursue nature-based hazard mitigation. Learn more: https://www.appfloodpolicy.org/

Deep in the hills of West Virginia, coal mining and the dangers that come with it have been a part of families’ lives for generations. There’s a fierce legacy of miners fighting for — and winning — protections that have benefitted workers nationwide: https://ow.ly/Ibyo50XKnXO

Data center-driven economic growth is exposing investment figures and GDP gains as misleading prosperity metrics—and misguided goals for local economies, according to Senior Researcher Sean O’Leary’s latest blog, “The Appalachianization of America’s Economy.” https://ow.ly/FmLE50XKnFl

Since the dawn of the Appalachian fracking boom in 2008, the thirty largest gas-producing counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have logged robust growth in economic output but concerning declines in jobs and other key measures of economic wellbeing: https://ow.ly/G65e50Xx22g

Prioritizing energy efficiency and region-wide renewable energy development is a “far better, more reliable, and less expensive option” than plans to expand coal- and gas-fired power generation in West Virginia: https://ow.ly/ou9r50Xx0q4

💬 The Appalachianization of America’s economy? AI-driven economic growth is exposing investment and GDP growth as misleading measures of prosperity and as misguided goals for local economic development strategies, Sean O'Leary writes: https://ow.ly/GmOT50XGZ8H

Skyrocketing electricity demand complicates decarbonization efforts in Appalachia, a region whose emissions cuts have come primarily from swapping coal for gas. https://ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/expanding-data-center-demand-near-appalachia-could-slow-down-regional-decarbonization-efforts/

“Data centers’ characteristic capital-intensity and non-labor-intensity constitute a structural barrier to their becoming the economic development engines Pennsylvanians and their leaders hope for,” researcher Sean O’Leary writes in a recent blog post. https://ow.ly/N3my50XwZF2

Place-based economic development policies can help grow jobs and prosperity in distressed areas across the nation, according to economist Tim Bartik. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-abundance-movement-needs-to-help-distressed-places-not-just-booming-ones/

A slew of fracked gas pipeline projects in the Midwest could open the valve of Appalachia gas even wider, fueling the buildout of gas-fired power plants and power-hungry data centers across the region. More: https://ow.ly/V9tm50Xx0Bx

Shell is unlikely to recoup its $14B investment in PA petrochemical production as market headwinds intensify. The company is reportedly looking to sell or find a partner for its Beaver County ethane cracker—our latest report scrutinizes likely contenders: https://ow.ly/MNp550XwYRH

US Steel's investment plan suggests the company may be prioritizing modern steelmaking development in Arkansas, where union steelmaking is less prevalent, over modernizing its emissions-intensive—and historically union—traditional steel plants in PA: https://ow.ly/ZE8v50XwYma

Splashy data center announcements from Meta and other tech companies tend to be short on details, making them difficult to assess and hard to believe: https://publicgood.substack.com/p/zuckerbergs-hot-mic-and-big-commitment

Just about everyone hates data centers. Across geographies and even partisan divides, residents are concerned about rising electric bills and “frustrated when powerful companies want to make changes that would alter local landscapes.” https://ow.ly/49CK50XwXOx

New analysis of public records shows Shell has sold tens of millions of dollars worth of tax credits intended to support local petrochemical growth to out-of-state insurance firms. https://ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/shell-desperately-seeking-an-exit/

The Borealis pipeline could bring more Appalachian gas to the Midwest and Gulf Coast, according to Research Fellows Eric de Place and Julia Stone, expanding takeaway capacity and opening the valve of Appalachian gas even wider. https://ow.ly/nnc150XwW3t