The government is directing the US Department of Energy to consider the project’s impact on climate, economy, and national security, which would delay the decision on the CP2 project along with 16 other projects past the November election
CP2 natural gas export terminal to be delayed. (Credit: Robin Sommer on Unsplash)
The US government has reportedly stalled a decision on the Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) natural gas export terminal, which would become the largest natural gas export terminal in the US.
The delay is expected to stretch past the November election and may pose trouble to the CP2 project along with 16 other proposed LNG export terminals, reported The New York Times.
According to the publication, the government is directing the US Department of Energy to expand its review to consider the project’s impact on climate, economy, and national security.
The move comes as President Joe Biden prepares for the election campaign, by inciting climate voters, particularly the young activists who helped him win the election in 2020.
Also, the move will satisfy those who have been angered by the Biden administration’s approval of the Willow project, a large-scale oil drilling operation in Alaska, last year.
Kentucky Senator, Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor: “This move would amount to a functional ban on new LNG export permits. The administration’s war on affordable domestic energy has been bad news for American workers and consumers alike.”
The CP2 export terminal, planned to be built along a shipping channel that connects the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Charles, Louisiana, is expected to dwarf the country’s existing export terminals.
The $10bn project would export up to 20 million tons of natural gas per annum, enhancing the current volumes of US gas exports by about 20%.
It initially requires approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, followed by the US Department of Energy for consideration.
The Energy Department has never rejected a natural gas project for environmental impact, but the White House has requested an additional analysis of the climate impacts of CP2.
Whatever the new criteria the department applies to evaluate CP2, would be applied to the other 16 proposed natural gas terminals awaiting approval.
Furthermore, environmental activists, scientists, and individual influencers are running campaigns to halt the approval of the CP2 project and other proposed gas terminals.