Companies Cancel Atlantic Coast Pipeline After Years of Delays. Duke Energy and Dominion Energy said the prospects of a natural gas conduit under the Appalachian Trail remained too uncertain

Wall Street Journal ^ | July 5, 2020 | Katherine Blunt

[karpov]

The builders of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline are pulling the plug on the project as companies continue to meet mounting environmental opposition to new fossil fuel conduits in the U.S.

Duke Energy Corp. and Dominion Energy Inc. said Sunday that they were abandoning the proposed $8 billion pipeline—which aimed to carry natural gas 600 miles through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina and underneath the Appalachian Trail—citing continued regulatory delays and uncertainty, even after a favorable Supreme Court ruling last month.

Dominion meanwhile said it was selling the rest of its natural gas transmission and storage network to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for $9.7 billion including debt. The deal includes a 25% stake in the Cove Point liquefied natural gas export facility in Maryland, of which Dominion will remain the largest owner.

“This announcement reflects the increasing legal uncertainty that overhangs large-scale energy and industrial infrastructure development in the United States,” Dominion and Duke said in a joint statement. “Until these issues are resolved, the ability to satisfy the country’s energy needs will be significantly challenged.”

Utilities and pipeline companies have been trying to expand U.S. pipeline networks for more than a decade to take advantage of the bounty of oil and gas unlocked by the fracking boom. But many of the projects have encountered intense opposition from landowners, Native American groups and environmental activists concerned about climate change who want to keep fossil fuels in the ground.

The Keystone XL pipeline expansion to carry oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast remains unbuilt more than a decade after it was first proposed by TC Energy Corp. The operator of the Dakota Access pipeline, Energy Transfer LP, completed the conduit to carry oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale region to Illinois in 2017

[karpov]

I'd like to see the "environmental activists" live without heat and electricity. Most would probably complain about not having air conditioning.

[SaxxonWoods]

Well, that will help support energy prices.

[_longranger81]

Warren Buffett.

Hmph.

[DeweyCA]

They may be getting worried that Biden will win the election and shut down the energy business.

[crusty old prospector]

Gee, the 100’ ROW would be horrible. You would pass through it in about ten seconds of walking.

[SunkenCiv]

• Atlantic Coast Pipeline project canceled
• Federal judge orders Dakota Access Pipeline shut down
• ENERGY Court orders Dakota crude pipeline shutdown, in win for Native American tribes in long-running saga