All eyes on Biden — and ballot — as LNG project advances
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Climate activists and LNG developer Venture Global agree on only one thing: The ball is in President Biden's court on the nation's most closely watched fossil fuel project.
Why it matters: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in a 2-1 vote, yesterday approved Venture's CP2 project in Louisiana.
- That puts all eyes on the White House-led pause on new export licenses to major markets, which are key for projects to proceed.
The big picture: The project is very large in its own right — and a symbol of wider battles over LNG.
- LNG backers say exports give the U.S. geopolitical leverage and help displace overseas use of coal, the most CO2-emitting fuel.
- Former Senate Energy chair Mary Landrieu, who's working with Venture on the project, called FERC's decision "a significant win for American infrastructure and energy security."
The other side: Paris Agreement targets require getting off all fossil fuels, and activists fear LNG projects lock in emissions for decades.
- And methane releases in the supply chain erode the advantage over coal, though how much is hotly debated.
- Leah Donahey, the League of Conservation Voters' senior federal advocacy campaigns director, called it "the most dangerous and controversial LNG export project ever proposed in the U.S."
- She added that FERC's action "underscores why the Department of Energy's role reviewing LNG exports is essential."
Catch up quick: U.S. exports are slated to grow regardless, thanks to new projects already taking shape, but many other plans still await final decisions.
The pause and study of new permits is slated to continue past the election, and Donald Trump has pledged to end the policy.
What we're watching: What happens if Biden wins is hard to game out as DOE officials review the economics and climate effects of LNG approvals.
- "[E]ven if Biden allows permitting to resume upon clinching a second term, he's expected to impose higher hurdles that some projects can't clear," Bloomberg notes.
