The prospects for new fossil fuel infrastructure in the US have gone from bad to worse after regulators beefed-up environmental requirements for natural gas pipelines, adding to the woes of an industry under siege from campaigners.
For the first time in more than two decades, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted on Thursday to overhaul the certification process for new gas pipelines, providing for greater scrutiny of the economic need for projects, as well as their impacts on the environment, communities, and landowners.
The changes mean that new pipeline approvals — already subject to a lengthy review and often facing legal challenges — will become significantly more difficult to attain.
It is a victory for campaigners who have argued that too many pipelines are being greenlighted, locking in reliance on fossil fuels for years to come.
“Pending projects just went from being in limbo to being in purgatory,” said Brandon Barnes, senior energy litigation analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “I think it is probably as close as you can get to FERC saying ‘We’re not going to permit anything on the natural gas side for a while.’”
FERC’s permitting reboot is the latest blow to pipeline developers, who have found themselves at the center of the stand-off between the fossil fuel industry and climate activists.
Environmentalists have successfully targeted the sector in recent years, scuttling major gas conduits by dragging them through lengthy and expensive legal battles.
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would have pumped gas 600 miles from West Virginia to North Carolina, was abandoned in 2020 after delays and legal challenges sent costs soaring to almost $8bn.
Last year, the plug was pulled on the 120-mile, $1.2bn PennEast Pipeline from Pennsylvania to New Jersey after significant resistance.
Meanwhile, despite being more than 90 percent complete, doubts have been raised over the future of the 300-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline, due to funnel gas across Virginia and West Virginia.
One of its owners, the utility NextEra Energy, said on Friday it was re-evaluating its investment in the project as it took an $800mn impairment charge after a federal appeals court threw out two key permits. NextEra had already written down its investment by $1.2bn last year.
Other smaller pipelines have also faced challenges.
h/t JDK
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Biden just keeps on drilling holes in the bottom of his Rowboat