A leading trade group representing the Marcellus Shale natural gas industry has expressed disappointment over a recent political pivot by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro regarding data centers.

At a Glance:

• The Marcellus benchmark trades at $1.700
• Marcellus Shale Coalition President Jim Welty backs behind-the-meter (BTM) natural gas generation
• Natural gas supplies about 60% of Pennsylvania's power

The reaction comes from the Marcellus Shale Coalition, the key trade association for the Appalachian Basin's natural gas producers, after Shapiro shifted his stance on data center development in the state. The group had viewed emerging data center demand as a potentially pivotal growth driver for regional gas producers, as the rapid buildout of computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence and cloud services across the Mid-Atlantic has raised expectations of a surge in electricity demand — a prospect of particular significance for producers in the Marcellus Shale, one of the largest natural gas producing regions in the United States, where takeaway capacity constraints have long weighed on local prices.

Welty, who leads the coalition, has previously discussed the outlook for Appalachian Basin natural gas as new demand centers emerge, including on NGI's Hub & Flow podcast, and has voiced support for behind-the-meter natural gas generation to power data center sites directly. Behind-the-meter configurations, in which a facility generates its own power on site rather than drawing from the grid, have been floated by gas producers as a way to serve large new loads without waiting on lengthy grid interconnection queues.

Natural gas remains the dominant source of electricity in Pennsylvania, accounting for roughly 60% of the state's power supply, and the Marcellus benchmark was trading at $1.700.

Source: Natural Gas Intelligence