The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, is a little known but important regulatory agency in Washington, tucked within the larger Department of Energy. It wields an incredible amount of power over matters that have sprawling consequences for the American people, but few know anything about it.
FERC regulates interstate transmission of electricity. But its most important role these days is regulating gas export terminals and interstate gas pipelines. No gas export terminals or interstate gas pipelines can be built without FERC’s approval. It’s the government body responsible for issuing permits for such projects. However, when it comes to one of the most insidious forms of new fossil fuel infrastructure, gas export terminals, FERC has been willing to issue permits all too freely. It’s hardly ever met an export terminal it didn’t like.
Just a few short years ago, the United States barely exported fossil gas, or “natural” gas, as the fossil fuel industry calls it. As fracking technology spread and a fracking boom set off across the country, a surplus of domestic gas supplies led oil and gas companies to seek new markets overseas.
Since then, there has been a rush to construct gas export facilities to sell this gas on the international market to the highest bidder. When Russian President Vladimir Putin began his unprovoked and unlawful attack on Ukraine nearly two years ago, the industry tripped over itself to convince the public that this rush to export American gas was all to save Europe from Russian aggression. The truth is, new terminals were being built long before the ground assault began, and more projects were on the drawing board or headed to FERC for review.
Within a few years of the expansion of fracking, there were already five gas export terminals operating on the Gulf Coast alone. Four more are in the works. Seven more have been approved but not yet built, and a half dozen more are planned and awaiting approval from FERC. If the industry has its way, and FERC obliges, the Gulf Coast will be covered in massive gas export terminals from Texas to Mississippi. The small corner of Southwest Louisiana, a hurricane zone that is home to one of America’s last remaining fishing fleets, will be clogged with 11 terminals all along one corridor.
If past is prologue, FERC will likely approve most, if not all, of the facilities proposed by the oil and gas industry. After all, out of the 22 total facilities proposed for the Gulf — only five of which are already operating — there are only six left to approve. If all proposed facilities receive a seal of approval from FERC and begin operations, the consequences would be disastrous.
A new report shows that exported liquefied American gas, across its lifecycle — from extraction through the pipelines to liquefaction, shipping and combustion — emits more greenhouse gasses than coal. Another reveals that if all export plants proposed for the U.S. were to become operational, the combined total emissions of the facilities would be greater than those of the entire European Union across all economic sectors. Imagine trying to meet climate goals while adding the emissions of another industrialized continent to the equation. It’s not possible.
This administration does have climate goals, but at this rate of permit approval for new fossil fuel projects, those goals will never be met. FERC’s five commissioners are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, but their rubber stamp for the gas industry is snuffing out President Biden’s climate agenda.
It’s time FERC did its job and began regulating the industry rather than placating it. The first quarter of the 21st century is almost over. The science is clear. Fossil fuels are incompatible with a stable climate and prosperous future.
Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (Ret.) led Joint Task Force Katrina in New Orleans following the devastating Category 5 hurricane. He is currently head of The Green Army, an organization dedicated to finding solutions to pollution.