"The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision to assess a proposed natural gas pipeline's contribution to climate change could have major implications for gas infrastructure, analysts say, including nearly unheard-of project rejections.
"Once one starts to look at the impact of the pipelines on the climate, it won't be business as usual," said Jennifer Danis, a senior fellow at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. "FERC took a really important first step in a long overdue process."
For the first time ever, FERC last month weighed greenhouse gas emissions related to a Northern Natural Gas Co. pipeline replacement project running 87 miles from northeast Nebraska to Sioux Falls, S.D. The independent agency ultimately approved the project (Energywire, March 19).
The issue will be revisited this week at FERC's meeting, where the agency is expected to consider Enbridge Pipeline's request to intervene in the case. If FERC approves that, the company could file a lawsuit challenging the decision to account for pipeline greenhouse gas emissions."
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