Patrick Hynes writes in RealClearEnergy about Biden’s war on LNG exports.
- In the aftermath of Three Mile Island in 1979 then-Senator Joe Biden voted for a “temporary pause” on reactor permitting. Fourth-five years later President Biden has initiated a temporary pause on LNG exports.
- Despite the fact that American LNG is far cleaner than fossil fuels produced overseas, the industry is facing some of the same rhetoric that nuclear power faced in the 80s and 90s.
- If the U.S. wants to meaningfully reduce emissions, it should empower the private sector to innovate instead of hurting investor confidence with politically-fueled LNG pauses.
“If idealistic politicians succeed in removing U.S. LNG from the global market, it will lead to the double whammy of increased coal and dirtier natural gas from emissions-agnostic countries like Russia. Like nuclear, the LNG export sector is highly vulnerable to political disruptions. A rejected export terminal, much like a failed reactor, can erode investor confidence enough to reverse the industry’s momentum. A German state-owned gas importer, SEFE, has already turned to Russia in response to the pause, and other committed buyers like Malaysia are reportedly getting cold feet. These developments are neither good for global security nor the climate.”
Read more here.
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