More than five years have guide since a major new natural accelerator grapevine put down the boundaries of New York City . Since then , the city ’s undergone a massive building boom , add some24,000 unexampled housing unitsa twelvemonth since 2017 . Every new building , however , need more energy for heating , and local utilities are hellbent on that being born natural gas .
That ’s why they ’re sustain the construction of a proposed pipeline that ’d run underwater through New York Bay bring raw gas from shale fields in Pennsylvania into rest home in Queens , Brooklyn , Staten Island , and Long Island . Here ’s the thing , though : Natural gasolene is a fossil fuel , and New York Governor Andrew Cuomocommittedearlier this twelvemonth to cease the state ’s dependence on them . That ’s why , as the pipeline nears twist , it ’s face some stiff opposition , let in the New York Citycomptrollerand members of the City Council who are design to introduce a resolutionaskingthe Department of Environmental Conservation ( DEC ) to spurn the project . Opponents are also planning a border district Thursday in New York City to make some more noise .
And these critic invoke a sightly point : How the the pits does a new natural gas project match into a unclouded energy vision ?
A gas pipeline may soon run beneath New York harbor.Photo: AP
harbinger in 2016 , theNortheast Supply Enhancement ( NESE ) project — or Williams Pipeline as some antagonist call it ( inspired by its Oklahoma - based developer , Williams)—is an expansion of the company ’s already existingTransco Pipeline , a 10,000 - Roman mile long interstate line system that brings raw gas from the Gulf Coast into the Northeast . The project is currently look state and Union favourable reception , and the DEC has until May 16 to issue a cardinal water authentication that ’d allow twist to begin this class . Once built , the pipeline is expected to addup to 400 million cubic feet of natural gas a dayto the New York City field , enough to heatmore than 2 million American homes .
While the intact elaboration covers 47 mile , adversary are most concerned with the 23 miles from New Jersey to New York , which will require dredge nearly 90 acres of the seafloor between the states , an area about half the size of Disneyland .
Kimberly Ong , a older attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council , is most concerned about the potential for this construction to pollute that waterway . The seafloor flutter has the potential to throw lading of settled sediment into the water , creating whiteout - case conditions underwater .
Stop the Williams NY Pipeline Coalition delivers 14,496 petitions to Gov. Cuomo in February.Photo: Erik McGregor (Stop the Williams NY Pipeline Coalition)
“ It would make the H2O too cloudy for Pisces to do just canonic things required to live , like migrate , eat , put down testicle , ” Ong told Earther . “ It would be like that for days and days . ”
So there ’s the concern of how the project ’s construction could harm marine spirit in the region , which include five ocean turtleneck coinage and even the potency for dolphins that rarely chew the fat New York waters , agree to the environmental impact instruction . More importantly , perhaps , there ’s the wallop on our planet ’s on-going warming .
The project developer and utility care to make the case that , well , gas is cleaner than oil . Sure , it does n’t let go of as many pollutant into the air travel , but it still relinquish methane if it leaks . This glasshouse has25 times the heating potentialover a century than its more notorious relation , carbon dioxide . But word of mouth proponent do n’t like to talk about that . The way they see it , the neighborhood needs more innate gas .
In fact , Con Edison , a utility that supplies power to Bronx , Manhattan , Queens , and Westchester County and would n’t be a customer to the NESE enlargement , issued a moratorium on new gas line connectionsin Westchester last month out of business organization for future demand . It ’s alsothreateningNew York City with a moratorium if the so - call Williams Pipeline does n’t win . So is National Grid , which service Long Island , Queens , Staten Island , and Brooklyn and would be the pipeline ’s sole customer . According to a instruction developer Williams sent Earther , National Grid is converting some 8,000 customers a year from vegetable oil to gas . More gas is required to keep up with this transition away from oil , the utilities say .
But these utility do n’t require any more new gas connectedness to buildings until more supply can enter the region via pipeline . While the provision of gas is contact current demand , Con Edison , at least , is anticipating demand will skyrocket past the supply , which it says has n’t been growing . This projection is establish upon the company ’s top peak demand day , said Con Edison voice Allan Drury . The top 10 daylight have all been since 2017 .
“ If we begin to forecast that we can not meet the need for natural gas on the days of peak need , we can not responsibly add new customers , which typically number 1,700 fresh connexion each year , ” allege Ivan Kimball , Con Edison ’s vice president of get-up-and-go management , during his testimonial before the New York City Council as part of a hearing on the word of mouth Monday .
However , this line is n’t without its critics . Suzanne Mattei , the former regional director for the DEC who is now a private consultant , authored a reportfor 350 Brooklyn in March outline why utilities ’ need argumentation phone false . Mattei says the numbers just do n’t show that need for natural gas will go up ; it ’s gone down nationwide . And the number of peak demand twenty-four hours is n’t a good cadence for succeeding demand , she said , because they ’re still only a few days out of the year and , really , only a few hours of the day .
Even if requirement were the issue here , these utilities could take other steps to treat the need . Like investing in geothermal - power heat heart . Or energy efficiency . Or a renewable galvanising control grid ! It does n’t have to be a word of mouth , Mattei state . And it really should n’t be if a state like New York is trying to ablactate off fossil fuel in the next 20 years .
“ If you ’re looking for a bridge from fogy fuel to houseclean renewable technology , you do n’t really desire something that ’s going to require a lot of new infrastructure , ” Mattei told Earther . “ A monumental raw line that ’s blend in to have a lifespan of maybe 40 years or more ? That search less like a bridgework and more like a barrier when it comes to getting to unobjectionable technology . ”
However , the line developer and public utility company champion gaseous state as a way to transition toward this futurity .
“ born gas is a vital component of the commixture of energy rootage necessary to fulfil the region ’s growing muscularity needs , make affordability for utility customer and guarantee reliability while renewables scale , ” developer Williams wrote to Earther in an email . “ Natural gas does not service as an impediment to renewable energy development . ”
Cuomo wants to see the state get to 100 per centum carbon free power by 2040 . That sounds difficult if his agency approves a new fogy fuel project intend to last some 40 years . His office could n’t comment on whether it digest the push project , but the regulator will be supporting the DEC ’s decision whatever it may be , said the governor ’s deputy communication conductor Jordan Levine to Earther .
What Cuomohas been outspoken aboutis Trump ’s recent executive order that attempts to limit United States Department of State ’ superpower to deny these types of projects . The governor also moved toinvest $ 250 millioninto a Clean Energy Action Plan for Westchester County after Con Edison implemented its moratorium there . The plan would fund the deployment of heating system pump , increase gas efficiency , and supply grants to incentivize clean energy alternative like solar through the county .
That ’s all great , but for many New Yorkers , what happens with the aim Williams Pipeline will let on whether Cuomo is serious in his commitment to prevent further climate change . That ’s the concern for the blue - income families and communities of colour Patrick Houston represents . He ’s the climate and inequality campaign companion for New York Communities for Change , a nonprofit organization that works to build power among underserved communities in New York City and Long Island . So many of the people he ’s met with lost their household and stability after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the region in 2012 . They ca n’t afford another one .
“ It is dead absurd that with business - as - usual and the Rockaways projected to be submerged by the end of this century , that New York country is even considering building more fossil fuel infrastructure , ” Houston told Earther .
He does n’t want to see anyone without heat in the winter calendar month , obviously . No one does . But he sees this argument from utility as an exculpation . They require to invest more sharply in renewable resources , he enounce . More fogy fuels just ca n’t be the result anymore — not for the people whose living are at interest .
“ If they ’re unfeignedly concerned about the safety and the comfortability of their customers ’ homes , ” Houston said , “ then why are n’t they endow way more energy and resources into providing alternative that control that so many of the homes that they power are n’t underwater by the goal of the century ? ”
This article has been updated to clarify that New York land ’s goal is to get to 100 percent carbon barren power by 2040 rather than 100 pct renewable power .
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