Commissioner Tony Clark’s LNG export comments are the
pullquote in the
U.S. House Committee’s own writeup.
His testimony says a surplus of fracked gas in the U.S.
is driving both LNG exports and new pipelines.
Not customer demand in Florida:
producer demand for new markets.
Do we want a pipeline through our lands to profit fat cats in Houston?
Given Clark’s background as
a public service commissioner in
fracking North Dakota, he seems likely to be a fracking, LNG export,
and gas pipeline advocate.
New FERC Acting Chair
Cheryl A. LaFleur’s testimony set the stage for Clark’s remarks:
Increased availability of domestic natural gas and its growing use
in power generation also has implications for natural gas
infrastructure, which Commissioner Clark will touch on in his
testimony.
FERC Commissioner
Phillip D. Moeller’s testimony
included this Orwellian remark:
Over the last 22 months, the Commission has undertaken significant
efforts to address the growing convergence of the natural gas and
electric industries through seven technical conferences and regular
updates. In November the Commission issued its final rule relating
to communications regarding sensitive system information in an
effort to open communication channels between interstate natural gas
pipelines and operators of wholesale electric markets.
So we should pave the way for natural gas plowing through our property
by making communications about it federally sensitive?
Written Testimony of Commissioner Tony Clark
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Before the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Energy and Power
United States House of Representatives
Hearing on
Evaluating the Role of FERC in a Changing Energy Landscape
December 5, 2013
The large amount of natural gas in the U.S. is also creating an
impetus for something that was nearly unimaginable ten or fifteen
year ago, LNG export, as opposed to import terminals. This is an
area of significant workload increase for the Commission.
Presently, the FERC has thirteen proposed LNG export terminals and
three LNG import terminals in some phase of the permitting process.
As you would expect, the reviews that entail safely siting large
multi-billion dollar energy projects such as these are extensive.
Note he doesn’t say anything about deciding whether
to site LNG export terminals, just doing it “safely”.
So this FERC Commissioner seems in favor of what
another House subcommittee is also pushing:
LNG exports.
But what about pipelines?
Those are also driven by fossil fuel company fracked shale gas
gluts, not by customer demand:
As you might expect, the shale revolution in both liquids and
natural gas production is having a tremendous impact on the work of
the FERC. We see this Continue reading FERC Commissioner pushes LNG exports to House Subcommitee →
The proposal to build a natural gas pipeline by Sabal Trail/Spectra Energy is unnecessary and, undoubtedly, not in the best interest of the citizens living along its path. Not only will the construction of this pipeline create safety issues and devalue the property of affected landowners, it also serves as an extension of the fracking industry responsible for contaminated groundwater in drilling areas. The externalized costs of the natural gas industry are far too detrimental to public health for this to be considered when the potential for solar power in our region remains largely untapped.
