SOAE 2020: This is Moon Township
Sam Winstel
Posted January 14, 2020
America’s natural gas and oil revolution has benefitted cities across the nation by fueling manufacturing, boosting agriculture and growing local economies. Case in point: Moon Township – located northwest of Pittsburgh – which was highlighted in API’s annual State of American Energy report for its thriving small business community.
Energy development in the Marcellus Shale has restored the economy of Western Pennsylvania, creating good-paying jobs that helped residents weather the recession during the first decade of the 21st century.
Watch this video spotlighting Western Pennsylvania and the role of energy in its manufacturing renaissance:
API-PA Executive Director Stephanie Catarino Wissman commented:
“The natural gas industry in Pennsylvania is doing more than just revitalizing our manufacturing industry—it’s helping grow local businesses and providing much-needed economic opportunities to working families. Our industry has shown that economic growth and environmental progress can, do and should go hand-in-hand, and we look forward to continuing that progress.”
Since 2008, natural gas production in Pennsylvania has spurred strong and lasting growth in revenues, wages and land values. In Moon Township, the unemployment rate is under 3% and the median income is well over $70,000 – nearly $10,000 higher than the national average.
In Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District, home to Moon Township, the natural gas, oil and petrochemicals industry supports nearly 18,400 jobs and adds more than $1.78 billion each year in economic activity. Allegheny County Councilman At-Large Sam DeMarco explained:
“This industry provides people with optimism instead of pessimism. Right now, the unemployment rate in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County is the lowest it’s been since we started recording it in 1976. That means thousands of residents have good sustaining jobs.”
API’s report – “This is Energy Progress” – profiled Nancy Hunter Mycka, the third-generation owner of Hunter Trucks, which has grown more than 40% since 2008, boosted by nearby natural gas operations. The company today has more than 1,000 employees, sells more than 3,000 trucks annually and maintains a network of garage and maintenance facilities that can service more than 10,000 trucks per year.
Additionally, construction on the nearby Shell Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex is supporting an estimated 6,000 jobs for local tradesmen and women. Given the demand for skilled professionals and a competitive labor market, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development projects 80,000 workers will be needed to fill the high-paying jobs in energy and manufacturing by 2025.
Business owners, labor unions, educators and public officials are addressing these workforce challenges by investing in training and apprentice programs and expanding university curricula related to energy.
Today the region is experiencing significant growth, and the natural gas and oil industry is empowering this comeback. The State of American Energy in 2020 is defined by economic and environmental progress, and operators in Western Pennsylvania and the Marcellus Shale are setting this standard and driving our energy future.
Read the in-depth profile of Moon Township here.
About The Author
Sam Winstel is a writer for the American Petroleum Institute. He comes to API from Edelman, where he supported communications marketing strategies for clients across the firm’s energy and federal government practices. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Sam graduated from Davidson College in North Carolina, and he currently resides in Washington, D.C.