HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -Dominion Energy and Duke Energy announced Sunday the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast pipeline due to ongoing delays and increasing cost uncertainty that threaten the project’s economic viability.
According to a press release, despite last month’s 7-2 victory in favor of the pipeline at the United States Supreme Court, recent developments created a layer of uncertainty and anticipated delays for ACP.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, issued the following statement regarding the announcement that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project has been canceled.
“I am disappointed to learn that plans to build the pipeline on the Atlantic coast have been canceled. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline project took significant steps to ensure that the pipeline was built safely and that the Appalachian Trail and surrounding areas were protected. The pipeline would have created well-paid construction and manufacturing jobs for West Virginia workers, reinvested in our energy markets by increasing our national energy supply, and strengthened national security with reliable energy for key military installations. Today’s announcement is another reminder of why it is critically important that we work together to find a responsible balance between the environment and the economy. We must take steps to modernize our nation’s energy policy by passing the bipartisan American Energy Innovation Act. ”
The press release goes on to say that a series of legal challenges to the federal and state project permits caused significant increases in project costs and delays in time. The lawsuits and decisions sought to dramatically rewrite decades of permits and legal precedents, even as implemented by the presidential administrations of both political parties. As a result, the recent public orientation of the cost of the project has increased to $ 8 billion from the original estimate of $ 4.5 to $ 5.0 billion. Furthermore, the most recent public estimate of commercial services in service in early 2022 represents a delay of almost three and a half years with the remaining uncertainty.
Thomas F. Farrell, II, President, President and CEO of Dominion Energy, and Lynn J. Good, President, President and CEO of Duke Energy said:
“We regret that we are unable to complete the Atlantic Coast Gas Pipeline. For nearly six years we have worked diligently and invested billions of dollars to complete the project and deliver the much-needed infrastructure to our clients and communities. At all times we have been extensively committed With built-in comments from local communities, industry and labor leaders, government and permitting agencies, environmental justice organizations, and environmental interests, we express our sincere appreciation for the tireless efforts and important contributions made by all involved in this essential project. The announcement reflects the growing legal uncertainty that outpaces the development of large-scale industrial and energy infrastructure in the United States. Until these problems are resolved, the ability to meet the country’s energy needs will be significantly challenged. “
The Atlantic Coast pipeline was initially announced in 2014 in response to a lack of energy supply and diversification of deliveries for millions of families, businesses, schools, and national defense facilities in North Carolina and Virginia. The strong demand for the project is driven by the regional withdrawal of coal-fired power generation in favor of environmentally superior and lower cost natural gas generation, combined with the growing widespread demand for residential, commercial, defense and industrial applications from low cost and low emission natural gas. Those needs are as real today as they were at the start of the project, as evidenced by the recently renewed customer subscription of approximately 90 percent of the project’s capacity. The project was also expected to create thousands of construction jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue for local communities across West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey expressed his deep disappointment in light of Sunday’s decision by Dominion Energy and Duke Energy to cancel the pipeline off the Atlantic coast. The decision comes just weeks after the Attorney General led an 18-state coalition that helped convince the United States Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that had unnecessarily blocked construction.
“I am deeply disappointed by this decision to cancel the construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a project that would have provided more than 1,000 West Virginia families with well-paying jobs. My office helped lead the fight to reopen the pipeline in the US Supreme Court, and is currently leading efforts to reverse the flawed national mandate to further limit the construction of pipelines that recently came out of a Montana district court. . The concept of a district court judge crippling pipeline construction across our country is very puzzling. My office will examine this matter even more closely and continue our total fight for the jobs of West Virginia. We should and shouldn’t give up fights like these. “
The Attorney General earlier this month helped lead a coalition urging the Supreme Court to suspend the decision of Montana, an overly broad federal district court order affecting the construction of new oil and gas pipelines across the country. The lower court ruling brought a sudden and unexpected halt to construction projects far beyond the issue at hand. The coalition argues that, without a suspension to block its implementation, the order will immediately disrupt the economy at an already precarious time as the projects, and the energy resources they provide, are critical to each state. Regarding the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the Attorney General successfully argued that a ruling by the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals would have transformed 1,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail into an almost impenetrable barrier to energy development. all to avoid a tenth mile crossing deep below the surface in a 600 mile pipeline. Stopping construction of the Atlantic Coast pipeline cost the state at least 1,500 well-paying jobs and lost income from property and income taxes. The jobs in question paid workers between $ 25 and $ 40 an hour plus allowances. Once completed, the Atlantic Coast pipeline would have carried natural gas through Harrison, Lewis, Upshur, Randolph and Pocahontas counties en route to Virginia and North Carolina. The Attorney General successfully argued that, if applied nationwide, the 4th Circuit decision would have closed the development of more than 11,000 miles of federal trails and potentially disrupted the national power grid due to the cooling effect it may have had on investment in infrastructure.
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