Despite a 2017 surge in approvals for natural gas pipelines to be built starting this year, experts say opposition to new lines will continue to be a major challenge for the industry, especially in the Northeast and Northwest.
In response to that growing opposition the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the agency that oversees interstate natural gas pipelines, said on Dec. 21 it would examine its 18-year-old policy on pipeline certification. “Much has changed in the energy world since 1999, and it is incumbent upon us to take another look at the way in which we assess the value and the viability of our pipeline applications,” FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre said in a statement announcing the review.