Empire Offshore Wind Project Back On, Pipeline Still Mothballed

Now that New York Governor Kathy Hochul has satisfied the White Home to carry a stop-work order on the huge Empire Wind offshore wind venture, power and coverage observers are linking the negotiations to the revival of the proposed Structure pure fuel pipeline. Which may be so, but it surely stays to be seen who will get the final snicker, Hochul or Trump.

Hochul Wins The Offshore Wind Spherical …

One purpose to query the traditional knowledge on the offshore wind tradeoff is Hochul’s observe file with the Trump administration, having efficiently fended off at the least two makes an attempt to intrude with infrastructure planning in New York.

In a single significantly high-profile instance, Hochul has defied the administration’s order to roll again the newly put in congestion pricing system in decrease Manhattan. The administration set one deadline for the cameras to be turned off, then one other. The system remains to be up and operating after the newest deadline handed on Might 21.

Hochul additionally turned the tables on the administration earlier this 12 months, when the Division of Transportation seized management of renovation plans for the Penn Station railway hub in Midtown.

New York had budgeted $1.2 billion of its personal cash for the renovations, however apparently now the state can put that cash to good use elsewhere. In a public assertion on Might 23, Hochul additionally famous that the White Home tapped the skilled transit government Andy Byford — previously New York’s “Train Daddy” — to helm the the renovation venture.

“(I) hope he is able to use these skills to deliver a beautiful, on-time, federally funded Penn Station renovation that New Yorkers can be proud of,” Hochul said, reminding everybody that the Trump administration swooped in and took over the Penn Station plans, liberating up $1.2 billion in state funds.

… However What About That Pipeline?

If the offshore wind feud between Hochul and Trump follows the identical sample, Empire Wind will start pumping out clear kilowatts in 2027 simply as deliberate. In the meantime, the Structure Pipeline proposal will encounter some obstacles alongside the best way.

The Structure venture was first proposed throughout the Obama administration underneath the umbrella of the main US fuel infrastructure agency Williams. The proposed pipeline would join fuel methods in Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna County to markets in New York and New England, involving a considerable quantity of related infrastructure alongside the best way.

In a pipeline project fact sheet issued in 2014, Williams cited a development timeline of simply 10 months, with tree-cutting to start as early as 2015. That, in fact, met with vigorous opposition from native residents and environmental organizations. In 2016, the New York State Division of Environmental Conservation additionally denied a allow for the pipeline, largely as a result of issues over water useful resource impacts. The Federal Power Regulatory Fee affirmed that call in 2018, and Williams lastly withdrew the allow software in 2020.

“Sorry, Trump Can’t Save This Pipeline”

The power coverage setting has definitely shifted underneath Trump’s second time period, however the group opposition stays, creating new political complications for Hochul in her house state — if the pipeline is revived, that’s.

The power evaluation agency East Daley Analytics has noticed various the explanation why that’s unlikely. If they’re appropriate, Hochul’s offshore wind wager will probably be a solid win for renewable energy.

“East Daley sees many challenges ahead,” famous East Daley analyst Zach Krause on April 30. “For one, several of the original project backers have changed hands, including Cabot Oil & Gas (now part of Coterra Energy (CTRA)) and Duke Energy, which sold its midstream assets to Enbridge (ENB).”

“Williams may need to start from scratch finding customers if the new owners have lost interest,” Krause summarizes.

Krause additionally notes that the New England angle will probably be a troublesome row to hoe, as the prevailing pipelines are already working close to capability. “These pipelines would need to coordinate additional expansions to efficiently route the additional gas to New England markets,” he observes.

Pipelines And Offshore Wind At The Crossroads

Williams is a big firm, describing itself as dealing with “approximately one third of the natural gas in the United States.” With that in thoughts, Krause additionally attracts consideration to alternatives for Williams to choose off some low-hanging fuel infrastructure fruit elsewhere across the nation earlier than embarking on a high-profile venture within the Northeast that’s positive to attract undesirable consideration to itself.

Williams shouldn’t be about to enterprise into the offshore wind subject, however the firm has been burnishing its inexperienced credentials with a collection of photo voltaic power initiatives geared toward lowering emissions related to its sprawling infrastructure.

By 2021, Williams was already counting plans for 375 megawatts in solar energy unfold amongst 16 of its amenities. An undated recap of the solar program lists Williams amenities in Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia into consideration for photo voltaic growth.

That’s no small potatoes, however Williams remains to be laser-focused on its fuel enterprise. As described by Krause, the agency already has a backlog of lower-risk initiatives underneath its belt. He questions why Williams would place a wager on a high-risk venture within the Northeast at the moment, particularly when wealthy alternatives beckon alongside the Gulf Coast.

Why, certainly? Again in March the White Home let phrase slip that discussions had been underway with Hochul to lift the Structure Pipeline from its personal ashes. A number of information organizations reported Williams’s response. “We are interested in building the Constitution pipelineprovided there is sufficient customer demand and support from Northeast governors, including Governor Hochul, to mitigate the risk of costly permitting delays, court battles, and injunctions during construction,” the corporate said.

The important thing phrase right here is “mitigate,” which isn’t the identical as eradicate. Evidently, Williams foresees a point of threat within the venture, no matter governor-level assist.

Except for political dangers, local weather dangers are additionally operative. Again in 2019, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Supplies Security Administration issued an advisory to fuel and dangerous liquid operators across the nation on “the potential for damage to pipeline facilities caused by earth movement from both landslides and subsidence in variable, steep, and rugged terrain and for varied geological conditions.”

“These conditions can pose a threat to the integrity of pipeline facilities if those threats are not identified and mitigated,” PHMSA warned, itemizing a collection of particular incidents linked to flood harm and subsidence.

In the meantime, if all goes in keeping with plan, Hochul’s dealing with of the Empire Wind offshore wind dust-up might function a mannequin for different Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states with offshore wind initiatives within the works.

When Trump summarily suspended the offshore wind lease program upon taking workplace in January, Empire and different initiatives that already had their permits secured had been supposedly protected. That turned out to be faux information. The US EPA demonstrated as a lot when it snatched away the “final” allow for New Jersey’s Atlantic Shores wind venture in March. The Inside Division adopted up with a stop-work order for Empire Wind in April. That didn’t final lengthy. Maybe if New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy performs the fuel pipeline card, EPA will change its tune.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin might also need to take notice as development continues on the Coastal Virginia offshore wind venture. Though Virginia is already host to the controversial new Mountain Valley fuel pipeline, the developer filed plans for an extension into North Carolina earlier this 12 months.

Picture (cropped): Work has restarted on New York State’s Empire Wind offshore wind venture whereas the excessive profile Structure fuel pipeline proposal stays mothballed, for now (courtesy of Equinor).