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OBSERVATIONS
July 9, 2020 |
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The pipeline's stand-alone pumping station east of Smithfield was finished a year ago, even though the pipeline itself was nowhere in sight.
 Wingate Lassiter |
Atlantic Coast Pipeline's demise
can be good for us in the long run
Cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline by North Carolina's Duke Energy and Virginia's Dominion Energy came as a surprise and a big letdown to local officials counting on increased delivery of industry-driving natural gas to our region.
A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court had cleared one of several hurdles holding up progress on the project. But other legal challenges on environmental grounds remained unresolved, prompting the project's cancellation.
Announced in 2014, the proposal to pipe natural gas from West Virginia to Eastern North Carolina originally was to cost an estimated $4.5-$5 billion. Because of those legal hurdles, primarily, that estimate had risen to $8 billion. And that was the kicker that drove the companies to declare the project no longer economically viable.
What happens now?
Here's the official statement issued by Duke and Dominion about the future:
"The companies remain steadfast in the belief that fuel diversity --- including renewables, nuclear, and natural gas --- is critical for reliably and sustainably serving our customers and communities. Both will continue aggressively pursuing the development of renewables, storage, nuclear-license renewals, electric-vehicle infrastructure, energy-delivery infrastructure, as well as energy efficiency and demand-side management programs to meet their customers' needs while creating jobs and spurring new business growth in (our) regions."
In the long run, we'll be better off if those alternatives other than burning fossil fuels like coal and natural gas will rise up to sustain us without adding to the impending environmental crisis associated with global warming.
And that's a real "existential threat" to our survival, just as the coronavirus pandemic jeopardizes the health of us all just now. You can deny the science on both of those fronts if you choose, but that's not going to take us where we ought to be going.
director of economic development
In response to an inquiry from the Sun about what immediate harm the pipeline's cancellation may have on local industrial-development efforts, Johnston County's Economic Development Director Chris Johnson wrote the following:
It
doesn't, but in the words of one of my colleagues in
Nash County: "The real danger in economic-development
projects is the calls you don’t get, not the calls you
do get."
With the advancement of the Internet, top site consultants are fully aware of the capabilities of the communities they may consider. When they see that you are deprived or short on one of the infrastructure needs --- water, sewer, fiber, transportation, natural gas --- you never get those calls.
With the advancement of the Internet, top site consultants are fully aware of the capabilities of the communities they may consider. When they see that you are deprived or short on one of the infrastructure needs --- water, sewer, fiber, transportation, natural gas --- you never get those calls.
We have a (natural gas) supply from the
west and there are pockets of supply areas along the
I-95 corridor, but it would very beneficial if we had a
second supply. One of the benefits of this would have
been to provide redundancy. If there was a disruption of
service from the west, then this line could have served
as a backup. This would have benefited not only current
industrial partners, but also our residential
customers....
I know many of our friends believe this announcement will push society to pursue "green or renewable" energy. Unfortunately, we are many years away from that becoming a reality. In the meantime, cities in the Piedmont region and other areas of the state with gas will have the competitive advantage over the counties along the I-95 corridor and Eastern N.C.
I know many of our friends believe this announcement will push society to pursue "green or renewable" energy. Unfortunately, we are many years away from that becoming a reality. In the meantime, cities in the Piedmont region and other areas of the state with gas will have the competitive advantage over the counties along the I-95 corridor and Eastern N.C.
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