What Trump’s fuel efficiency rollback means for Pennsylvanians
Advocates say the loosening fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks will worsen air pollution and climate change.
Energy
In Upper Burrell, where fracking and AI industries converge, residents look to regulate data center
Residents of Upper Burrell in Western Pennsylvania already living with the environmental burdens of fracking now have a data center.
Pennsylvania leaders weigh in on AI and data centers at Pittsburgh conference
While many Pennsylvanians don’t want to live near a hyperscale data center, some leaders say they’re necessary for the U.S. to lead in AI.
Data center growth could mean blackouts in coming years, Pa. utility regulators say
New data centers added across the PJM region in one year alone could use more electricity than the entire state of Pennsylvania uses today.
Film fest in Pittsburgh puts spotlight on train crash, pipeline fight
The Allegheny Front is a sponsor of the Backyard Docs Film Festival that opens Thursday, September 24.
Federal energy officials praise Duquesne Light efforts to make electric grid more resilient
Duquesne Light Company is preparing to install tens of thousands of smart meters to help identify problems that can lead to outages.
Inadequate safety and training led to 2025 blast at Shell’s ethane cracker, federal safety board finds
The agency found one of the engineers who initiated the procedure that precipitated the explosion “had never previously performed the task.”
EPA announces rollback of climate pollution rules for power plants
The announcement is the latest in a back-and-forth between Democratic and Republican administrations over whether or not to limit power plants’ greenhouse gas pollution.
Pa. fines Shell $15 million for air pollution from its Beaver County plastics plant
The plant went over the allowable limit for benzene, a carcinogen, and it failed to perform testing required by the state.
Energy bills driven by data centers threaten Pa. small businesses, report says
Small businesses may end up subsidizing mammoth tech companies’ AI data centers, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Sustainable Business Network.
