Gas Export Terminal Draws Opposition from Marylanders, Faith Groups

The small town of Lusby on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay is the home of a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal called Cove Point.  Dominion Energy has received conditional approval to convert the site’s existing import facility into an export terminal from the Department of Energy, FERC, and a key state regulatory body.  But local opposition to the proposed project is mounting.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) noted that the Energy Department warned that approving a sixth LNG export terminal would lead to U.S. domestic prices rising 54 percent, or $62 billion a year in additional energy costs.  A recent study from Charles River Associates found that under a high export scenario, U.S. gas prices would triple by 2030.  Using the gas domestically rather than abroad translates to more jobs and lower prices.  Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) asked why Americans should want to give up the current advantage of cheap natural gas prices.  And as LCV’s Dan Weiss (formerly of the Center for American Progress) noted in congressional testimony, increasing gas exports will mean more methane leakage, which is something that the Energy Department must assess when considering LNG export terminals.

The bottom line is that shipping more natural gas abroad will increase production here in the U.S., and likely decrease supply — which would lead to higher prices.  The increased production would lock us in to more fossil fuel production because the investors in a $400 million LND terminal are going to want to reap the value of their investment.  This means a continued reliance on natural gas, which, while it burns cleaner than coal, comes with enough methane leakage to override much of the benefit of lower emissions when we burn it.  That message will be spoken loud and clear on the National Mall on Sunday by residents who stand to lose most from the approval of the Cove Point LNG terminal.

Gas Export Terminal Draws Opposition from Marylanders, Faith Groups