At a time when many states in the Northeast are actively trying to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels to help fight climate change, the company that owns a major natural gas pipeline in the region wants to expand the system and bring in more fracked gas.
Dubbed 鈥溾�� the proposal from Enbridge 鈥� a large Canadian energy company with fossil fuel infrastructure throughout the U.S. 鈥� would involve substantial upgrades on the Algonquin Gas Transmission line. This pipeline runs from northern New Jersey through parts of New York, 黑料吃瓜网, Rhode Island and into Massachusetts, where it feeds into the and then connects to another pipeline north of Boston.
Details about the proposed project remain vague, but according to documents from Enbridge, the upgrades would include replacing existing underground pipes with larger ones, running secondary pipelines alongside existing ones and expanding some compressor stations along the route.
By expanding gas capacity on the pipeline, Enbridge says the project will help stabilize gas prices, increase electric reliability and 鈥淸support] New England鈥檚 continued journey to Net Zero鈥� by displacing oil use in the region on cold days.
Project Maple is 鈥渄esigned to expand Algonquin in a smart, targeted manner to meet the region鈥檚 growing needs for reliable access to natural gas,鈥� Max Bergeron, an Enbridge spokesman, wrote in an email.
But for environmentalists, building new gas infrastructure is unnecessary and antithetical to the stated carbon reduction goals of many states in the region.
鈥淚鈥檓 skeptical of Enbridge鈥檚 claims that this project would be beneficial to the region,鈥� said Kyle Murray, the Massachusetts program director at the Acadia Center. 鈥淎s we saw this past winter, with dramatic energy price spikes occurring in the natural gas market, our region is already over reliant upon natural gas for its heating and electric needs. Expanding this pipeline as the region is quickly moving to electrify its heating sources and develop more renewable generation makes little sense.鈥�
Nathan Phillips, a Boston University professor whose work often focuses on natural gas infrastructure, agreed. He called the Project Maple proposal 鈥渙dious,鈥� and said Massachusetts and other states in the Northeast 鈥渄on鈥檛 need the extra capacity that [Enbridge] is calling for.鈥�
We have 鈥渂etter solutions,鈥� he said.
Massachusetts, like many other states in the region, has aggressive climate goals that require dramatically reducing reliance on fossil fuels like natural gas. By 2050, the state aims to get most of its electricity from non-carbon emitting sources of power like wind, solar and hydropower. There may be some fossil fuel power plants still operating by then, but the state plans to slash emissions from the electricity sector over 1990 levels.
鈥淲e are at a critical juncture in both our nation's history and in world history in recognizing the real, tangible, serious effects of climate change on our health, our environment, our communities鈥� said Gillian Giannetti, a senior lawyer with the watchdog group The Sustainable FERC Project. 鈥淭his is not the time to casually add more fossil fuel capacity.鈥�
What does Project Maple entail?
Without a local source of natural gas, New England relies entirely on fuel from other parts of the country. Most of the gas the region uses comes through underground pipelines like the Algonquin Gas Transmission line 鈥� if you live in Eastern Massachusetts, you likely rely on the Algonquin pipeline for heating or electricity.
Natural gas is measured in 鈥渄ekatherms,鈥� and the Algonquin pipeline currently can carry about 3 million dekatherms per day, or about 3.12 billion cubic feet of gas. (For context, the average household in Massachusetts that heats with gas uses about 10-12 dekatherms of gas per month during the winter.)
Enbridge wants to expand the system and sell more gas from two points on the pipeline. At one end in Ramapo, New Jersey, the system could provide an extra 500,000 dekatherms of gas per day, and at the other end, in Salem, Massachusetts, the pipeline could carry an extra 250,000 dekatherms per day.
That represents a substantial increase in gas capacity on the pipeline. And in order to move all this extra gas through the pipeline, Enbridge may need to expand existing compressor stations as well. (Compressor stations 鈥渃ompress鈥� gas to give it a boost and help it move efficiently through a pipeline.)
Enbridge spokesman Max Bergeron said the company does not "anticipate adding any additional compression at the Weymouth Compressor Station as part of this project.鈥�
In its description of the project, Enbridge says most of the construction will take place 鈥渨ithin or adjacent to existing rights-of-way and at company-owned facilities,鈥� meaning that it 鈥渃an be developed with minimal impacts to landowners, local communities and the environment.鈥�
But Phillips, the BU professor, said he鈥檚 skeptical.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone is taking anything [Enbridge] says with a great deal of confidence,鈥� he said. The company鈥檚 description of the project 鈥渟et the alarm bells off鈥� in Salem and Weymouth.
Why does Enbridge say the project is needed?
As noted above, New England doesn鈥檛 have a lot of options for getting natural gas. But the region is also very gas-dependent; thousands of homes rely on gas for heating and more than half of New England's electricity is generated at gas-fired power plants.
According to Enbridge, despite state climate commitments, demand for natural gas is projected to increase in the near future. And a failure to meet that demand, the company says, will result in even higher energy prices and could put electric reliability at risk.
Enbridge is also positioning Project Maple as a climate-friendly project for the region.
It 鈥渨ill provide New England with an opportunity to secure a cost effective, regionally produced, environmentally responsible source of clean-burning natural gas to support the current and future demand for energy,鈥� the company wrote.
The logic is two-fold: First, if power plants have more gas, they can rely less on dirtier fuels like oil. And second, as the region builds out renewables, it will need so-called 鈥渂alancing resources鈥� that can quickly ramp up to keep the lights on. Enbridge argues that using gas-fired power plants to 鈥渙ffset the supply gaps that occur鈥� when the sun isn鈥檛 shining or the wind isn鈥檛 blowing will allow the region to safely add more renewables to the grid.
While most energy experts say some amount of firm and reliable power will be needed in the future, there's a great deal of debate over what that will look like. Batteries, for instance, could help offset some of those 鈥渟upply gaps.鈥�
Though not explicitly stated in Enbridge鈥檚 description of the project, some energy experts believe Enbridge may also be hedging its bets in the case that . The terminal is an important piece of energy infrastructure that accepts liquified natural gas from big tankers and turns it into methane gas that can be used to run power plants and heat homes.
Traditionally, of the methane that comes through the Everett terminal has been purchased by the Mystic Generating Station, the region鈥檚 largest gas-fired power plant. The other 20% goes into the underground pipeline system where it鈥檚 used by other power plants or for home heating.
The Mystic power plant is slated to close next summer, which makes the future of the Marine Terminal uncertain. The company that owns the terminal has said in the past that it can鈥檛 afford to keep it open after Mystic shutters next year unless another buyer for its gas steps up. So far, that hasn鈥檛 happened, meaning the New England region could face even bigger gas supply constraints in the near future.
Can climate-conscious states like Massachusetts stop this project?
Interstate gas pipelines like Algonquin fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government, specifically the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. But there may be a role for Massachusetts and other states along the pipeline. The original Algonquin pipeline 鈥� like the Weymouth Compressor 鈥� .
It鈥檚 possible that the project will need the same, said James Coleman, a FERC expert and law professor at Southern Methodist University. But without knowing the full scope of what Enbridge is proposing, he said it鈥檚 hard to say what the permitting process will look like.
Massachusetts environmental officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the proposed pipeline project.
The state several environmental permits for the Weymouth Natural Compressor Station during former Gov. Charlie Baker's administration, much to the dismay of climate activists and south shore residents. Things have changed since that happened, though.
Under , any major project being built in a state-designated environmental justice neighborhood, like Weymouth, requires extra scrutiny. The law also requires that state agencies look at how any new project would contribute to any existing environmental impacts in an area, rather than simply looking at the impacts of a projects in a vacuum.
So what happens now?
In order for a project developer like Enbridge to get the green light to move forward, it first needs to prove to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that the project is in the public good. In the energy world, that means proving there鈥檚 demand for the project, which is done through an auction process. The company on Sept. 12.
After the bids are in, Enbridge will ask the commission for what鈥檚 called a 鈥淐ertificate of Public Convenience and Necessity.鈥� This filing will trigger an environmental review as well as public comment period where concerned citizens, environmentalists and state leaders can weigh in on the project.
Getting this certificate 鈥� plus any other permits the project requires 鈥� will likely take several years and Enbridge anticipates its proposed expansion will be on line as soon as Nov. 2029.
There are other complicating factors. Congress is debating changes to the environmental review process for energy projects, which could make pipeline projects like this easier to build. And the five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission currently has one vacancy and a lame duck commissioner whose tenure ends later this year. Who is nominated to fill those seats could be help determine whether the commission looks favorably upon the project.
But while there are a lot of uncertainties about the future of Project Maple, Phillips, the BU professor, said one thing is clear.
鈥淭he fight is on," said Phillips. "We鈥檙e mobilizing and we鈥檙e going to [put] pressure everywhere鈥� to stop it.
This story was originally . It was shared as part of the New England News Collaborative.
