Winter is here and millions of Americans will be firing up their natural gas burning furnaces and cooking stoves, and using natural gas generated electricity. Natural gas is the chosen energy source of many because it is relatively economical and is much cleaner burning than coal or other fossil fuels.
Over the past several years, the demand for natural gas in the U.S. has outstripped domestic supplies, causing the price to nearly double.
Federal officials, such as U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, are calling for more imported natural gas to meet the nation's growing demand. When shipped from other countries, natural gas is super-chilled to turn it into a liquid that takes up 600 times less space than its vapor form.
While there hasn't been a new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import facility built in the U.S. since the 1970s, in the past few years more than 40 proposals have been drawn up to build new coastal LNG facilities in California, the Gulf of Mexico, and New England.
Siting LNG import facilities is a complex process, typically requiring numerous permits from federal, state, and local authorities. Federal agencies are under presidential and legislative directives to quickly approve applications for LNG facilities, which must be consistent with state coastal zone management programs.
The projects also tend to generate much public controversy because of their potential vulnerability to terrorist attack.
All of this can make coastal resource managers want to reach for the aspirin bottle.
The cover story of this edition of Coastal Services looks at how the issue is playing out for coastal managers in Massachusetts, where the oldest LNG terminal in the country is located, and two more LNG terminals—one onshore, one offshore–are being proposed.
We hope the information in the article and the additional resources listed will be useful if you are addressing an LNG proposal now or in the future.
-- Margaret A. Davidson
