Published: August 8, 2024 |

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The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that federal regulators failed again to adequately consider the greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts of two South Texas LNG projects.

The federal appellate court ordered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to redo its environmental reviews of Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG, likely delaying the projects for months if not longer. The court also ordered another review on the Rio Bravo pipeline project, which would connect to the Rio Grande project.

“We appreciate the significant disruption (the decision) may cause the projects. But that does not outweigh the seriousness of the commission’s procedural defects,” the three-judge panel wrote.

A spokesperson for the Texas LNG project, which is owned by New York-based Glenfarne Group, called the ruling a, “procedural decision to correct a technical deficiency.”

“We have full confidence FERC will address this matter judiciously and efficiently and look forward to working with them on this important issue,” Glenfarne said.

Houston-based NextDecade, which is developing Rio Grande LNG, said it “disagreed” with the ruling and was assessing its options. The ruling only impacts the second phase of the project. Construction of the first phase of the project began last year.

A FERC spokesperson declined to comment.

Both LNG projects are the subject of a year-long legal campaign by environmental groups and have divided South Texas residents who, while encouraged by the prospect of new jobs, worry about the impact on wildlife and local fishermen as well as public health.

The decision follows a DC Circuit ruling last month that found FERC had failed to adequately consider emissions and pollution from the Commonwealth LNG project.

“Today marks a win for environmental justice in South Texas — and for people across the country pushing FERC to consider environmental justice impacts,” said Nathan Matthews, an attorney with the nonprofit Sierra Club.

Source: Houston Chronicle

Glenfarne Energy Transition is a wholly owned subsidiary of Glenfarne Group, a privately held energy and infrastructure development and management firm based in New York City and Houston, Texas, with offices in Dallas, Texas; Panama City, Panama; Santiago, Chile; Bogota, Colombia; Barcelona, Spain; and Seoul, South Korea. Glenfarne Energy Transition aims to address the “here and now” global energy transition through three core businesses: Global LNG Solutions, Renewables, and Grid Stability. The company’s seasoned executives, asset managers, and operators develop, acquire, manage, and operate energy infrastructure assets throughout North and South America.

NextDecade is an energy company accelerating the path to a net-zero future. Leading innovation in more sustainable LNG and carbon capture solutions, NextDecade is committed to providing the world access to cleaner energy. Through its subsidiaries Rio Grande LNG and NEXT Carbon Solutions, they are developing a 27 MTPA LNG export facility in South Texas along with one of the largest carbon capture and storage projects in North America. The company is also working with third-party customers around the world to deploy proprietary processes to lower the cost of carbon capture and storage and reduce CO₂ emissions at their industrial-scale facilities.

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