A new study, released this week, by the Rachel Carson Council calls the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline “unnecessary, unsafe and unjust.” Blast Zone, explores the economic and political forces driving the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). The study examines the “bridge fuel” myth about natural gas, the growing importance of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources to meet future needs and why the economic motivations behind the ACP project.
Also released this month is a new analysis by former utility executive Tom Hadwin, “To Understand Pipeline Economics, Follow the Money.” Among the points in Hadwin’s paper are:
- Data filed with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission show the ACP will cost customers more than existing pipelines.
- Existing pipelines, currently serving Virginia, can transport the same or greater amount of gas as the ACP for a much lower cost, because existing pipelines have been mostly paid for by previous customers.
- Utilities get paid more when they build more. Today, there is little reason to build new power plants, because demand for electricity is no longer growing nationwide, even though there is growth in our economy and population.
- Different approaches are needed where everyone can benefit. To do that, we must reset the role of our utilities and pay them differently so they can prosper when they serve us better, as other states are doing.
New Analyses Challenge the Economics of the ACP