Amy Andryszak, President and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), issued the below statement following developers’ decision to cancel the PennEast Pipeline project:
“Every winter consumers in the Northeast and across the country are reminded of the need for additional natural gas infrastructure. In New Jersey alone, 75 percent of residents rely on natural gas to heat their homes.
“The United States has abundant natural resources that can provide affordable energy to every American family, such as the Marcellus Shale, which is the second largest natural gas field in the world. However, if we cannot get that gas to where it is needed because of regulatory and legal challenges by those who are content to impose higher energy bills on working families, we are effectively abandoning this strategic American asset.
“Natural gas is foundational to meeting President Biden’s climate change goals, but that requires the ability to transport that fuel from where it is produced to where it is needed. Natural gas has proven itself a versatile, baseload energy source that enables power sector emissions reductions and complements the deployment of renewables while ensuring energy remains reliable. The legal and regulatory roadblocks that led to the cancellation of the PennEast Pipeline – which would have been built with union labor – are putting energy affordability and reliability at risk in America.
“Pipelines are the safest and most efficient means to transport natural gas to homes and businesses. Building pipeline infrastructure, like any other capital-intensive infrastructure project, requires legal and regulatory certainty. Until that’s achieved, our climate progress will be slower, regions like the Northeast will be forced to continue importing gas from other countries, union workers will be denied the jobs they deserve, and middle-class families will pay for it all with higher energy bills.”
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INGAA represents the U.S. natural gas pipeline industry. INGAA’s members deliver clean, abundant, affordable natural gas throughout North America and operate approximately 200,000 miles of pipelines that serve as an indispensable link between natural gas producers and consumers.
