Dominion Energy Inc. and Duke Energy Corp. are canceling the $ 8 billion, 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The natural gas pipeline was to run 600 miles from West Virginia, through Virginia, to eastern North Carolina.
Duke Energy Corp has a net goal of zero by 2050 under the Paris Accords. However, the reason for killing the pipe is not environmental; It is due to anticipated legal delays that increase costs.
Why was the pipe killed?
According to the Charlotte Business Journal:
Duke and Dominion specifically cite the April decision of a federal judge in Montana that vacated a key water permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The recent public orientation of the cost of the project has increased to $ 8 billion from the original estimate of $ 4.5 to $ 5 billion.
Thomas F. Farrell, II, President, President and CEO of Dominion Energy, and Lynn J. Good, President, President and CEO of Duke Energy, stated in a joint press release:
We regret not being able to complete the pipeline on the Atlantic coast. For nearly six years, we have worked diligently and invested billions of dollars to complete the project and deliver much-needed infrastructure to our clients and communities.
This announcement reflects 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.
Duke Energy states on its website that “it will continue to advance its ambitious clean energy goals without the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) by investing in renewable energy, battery storage, energy efficiency programs and grid projects.”
the New York Times writes:
Environmental groups have long criticized Dominion and Duke for their continued development of fossil fuel projects. The two companies have argued that they have increasingly added renewable energy sources to produce electricity including wind, solar and hydro power, but they also argue that they need natural gas for times when those clean energy resources are not available.
The vision of environmentalists.
Gillian Giannetti, an attorney for the Federal Sustainable Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Project of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in an emailed statement:
This is tremendous news for West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina residents who deserve clean air, safe water, and protection from climate change. The expensive and unnecessary pipeline off the Atlantic coast would have threatened the waterways and communities on their 600-mile road. Its cancellation also marks a victory for Virginians in Union Hill whose concerns about a proposed gas compressor station were repeatedly ignored, and for tribal communities in North Carolina that were similarly rejected by state and federal agencies.
As they abandon this dirty pipe dream, Dominion and Duke should now devote themselves to investing more in energy, wind and solar efficiency – this is how to provide jobs and a better future for all.
Photo: Steve Helber, AP
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