In long-anticipated actions, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved two large liquefied natural gas export terminal projects on the Texas Gulf coast in Brownsville after re-evaluating their effect on climate change and on local communities as ordered by a 2021 federal appeals court ruling.
The approvals are for the estimated $11.5-billion Rio Grande LNG project being developed by NextDecade to produce 27 million metric tons per year at full five-train capacity, and the related $2.4 billion, 135-mile Rio Bravo pipeline, to be built by energy firm Enbridge.