By Robert Bradley Jr. – February 3, 2022
“[FERC] staff have determined that approval of the Project will not result in significant environmental impacts, with the exception of greenhouse gas emissions…. we are unable to draw conclusions about the significance of the Project’s contribution to climate change. ” (FERC, June 2021)
“NY Utilities: FERC delay could jeopardize gas system,” Read a headline earlier this week on EnergyWire, an E&E News publication. “Two New York utility giants last week urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ‘quickly’ approve a natural gas project proposed nearly two years ago, fueling the debate about the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions against other factors.” The article continued:
Although the changes to the policy statement have yet to be finalized, the gas industry and Republicans have accused the agency of delaying project approval since the investigation was opened. back in February last year. For example, at a virtual event earlier this month hosted by the American Energy Association, Amy Andryszak, president and CEO of the American Federal Natural Gas Association, alleged that the assessment FERC’s gas has “slowly slowed down”.
“All of this sends a signal to the market to discourage domestic natural gas production and investment in domestic infrastructure,” Andryszak said during the event.
In the case of a Compression Upgrade, further FERC “delays” could jeopardize the reliability of the New York gas system, the utility companies said in comments.
“[This] The Commission should recognize the need for National Grid to provide safe and adequate service. Given the specific realities of this procedure – i.e., a limited compression project needed to reliably serve customer needs – the Commission should reject any attempt to delay certification,” wrote National Grid.
Background
Iroquois Gas Transmission operates a system of natural gas pipelines serving New York and Connecticut from Waddington on the St. Lawrence to Hunts Point in New York City. Back in 2019, Iroquois proposed enhancing compression to increase natural gas supply by 125 MMcf/d to gas-demanding regions by winter of 2023/24. (Can see more information about the project here.)
Buyer and seller agreed to the project. That should have been enough for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve the project after a preliminary review.
Applications have been submitted, the project is ripe for approval in early 2021 and should be well built. But… Biden was elected and the energy continued to be politicized.
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Project sponsor Iroquois summarized the simple benefits of expanding compressor capacity to increase shipments to New York State and Connecticut by 125 MMcf/day.
New York
- Giving NYC more will help reduce the need for gas and benefit economic growth
- Increased supply facilitates oil-to-gas thermal transition while also providing new construction with natural gas instead of #2 fuel oil
- Supports the discontinuity of renewable energy sources
Connecticut
- Complementary to state zero-carbon initiatives and pursuit of offshore wind resources
- Reduce price volatility and lower fuel prices for electric and gas utilities
- Enhance grid reliability and resiliency with additional compression that allows for quick start-ups and rapid acceleration during peak times
But the common good
- Additional capacity without new piping
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution over the life cycle
- Increase property tax revenue for host communities
- Construction work and boost the local economy during construction
- Community funding related to the project
In the draft FERC Environmental Impact Statement issued in June 2021, FERC stated:
Based on the environmental analysis in the EA and in this EIS, employees have
determined that approval of the Project would not result in significant environmental impacts, with the exception of greenhouse gas emissions.While we acknowledge that direct and downstream emissions from the Project will increase GHG concentrations in the atmosphere, which will combine with past and future emissions from all other sources and will contribute to climate change. climate change, we are unable to draw conclusions about the importance of the Project’s contribution to climate change.
In accordance with NEPA and Commission policy, we have evaluated alternatives to the Project to determine if they are more reasonable and environmentally appropriate for the proposed action. These alternatives include no action alternatives, system alternatives, fuel alternatives, and site alternatives for proposed new facilities. Although all of the alternatives we evaluated appear to be technically feasible, none offer a significant environmental advantage over the Project design. We therefore conclude that the Project, as modified by our recommendations in part E of this EIS, is the preferred alternative to meet the Project objectives.
The old Federal Electric Commission once thwarted interstate natural gas transmission by giving way to oil and coal fuels; FERC is today siding with anti-energy environmentalists who want to use less affordable, less reliable fossil fuels.
Voters-citizens will have their say this November and beyond. The war on natural gas should be suspended. It is not a “demand fuel” but a target fuel that is still young in the modern energy age.
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