Energy chief Granholm warns of ‘unfettered exports’ of liquefied natural gas

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WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States should proceed with caution as officials consider new natural gas export facilities, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Tuesday, warning that “unfettered exports” of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, could raise domestic prices by more than 30. % and increasing the emission of greenhouse gases that warm the planet.

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Granholm’s statement came as the Department of Energy released a long-awaited study on the environmental and economic impacts of natural gas exports, which have grown dramatically over the past decade. The analysis found that US LNG exports raise domestic prices and tend to displace renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

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Increased LNG exports will lead to higher global greenhouse gas emissions, even with the use of technologies such as carbon capture and storage devices, the report said.

“Today’s issue reinforces that business as usual (LNG exports) is unsustainable and unwise,” said Granholm.

The Energy Department’s report comes after the Biden administration paused approval of new LNG projects in January to study the effects of LNG exports on the world. Natural gas releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, when it burns, leaks or is released.

LNG is particularly energy intensive, as the gas must be recovered by drilling underground, then piped for export to areas along the East and Gulf coasts. The gas is then “highly refined” into a liquid that is taken by tankers to import terminals in Europe and Asia, where it is re-gasified and distributed to businesses and households.

The oil and gas industry, along with Republican allies in Congress, have criticized the LNG freeze as unnecessary and counterproductive, and President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end the freeze on his first day in office. The moratorium is still in place under a federal court order, but few new terminals have been approved in the past year.

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The Department of Energy said last week it would not make a decision on two major LNG export projects in Louisiana until the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission completes environmental reviews of each project.

The American Gas Association called the temporary suspension of the Biden administration a mistake that caused uncertainty for the global market, investors and American partners around the world.

“This report is a clear and inexplicable attempt to justify their major policy mistake,” said AGA president and CEO Karen Harbert. “America’s allies are suffering from an arsenal of natural gas and energy, and any restrictions on the supply of vital energy to life is completely unreasonable.”

Herbert said the industry group looks forward to working with the Trump administration to “address issues with this study during the public comment period,” which runs through mid-February.

Charlie Riedl, executive director of the Center for LNG, an industry advocacy group, said Republican and Democratic administrations, as well as independent researchers, “have consistently found that US LNG exports provide economic, national security and climate benefits and benefit society.”

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US LNG “remains an important tool for countries that want to move away from fossil fuels” like coal and reduce their emissions, Riedl said, adding that US LNG exports play an important role in meeting growing demand for natural gas. US gas exports to Europe and Asia have increased since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The LNG moratorium, announced by President Joe Biden as the 2024 election year begins, has targeted Democratic administrations and environmentalists who fear that a huge increase in LNG sales in recent years has been offset by potentially catastrophic emissions that are warming the planet at a time when Biden has promised to cut US climate pollution. by half by 2030.

“While MAGA Republicans willfully deny the urgency of climate change, condemning the American people for a dangerous future, my administration will not be indifferent,” Biden said in a momentary announcement. His actions are “heeding the calls of young people and leading communities to use their voices to demand” climate action, Biden added.

The White House declined to comment on the Energy Department study, referring questions to the agency.

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