在特朗普政府宣布的"国家能源紧急"声明推动下，位于新奥尔良附近的Plaquemines液化天然气出口终端获得快速审批通道，开启一项180亿美元的大规模扩建计划[1]。根据该加急程序，公众评议期从标准的30天缩短至10天，截止日期为7月2日[1]。
该扩建项目将显著改变设施规模，占地面积从目前的590英亩扩至约1220英亩，使其成为北美最大的液化天然气出口终端[1]。产能方面，年处理能力将从1.4万亿立方英尺天然气增至2.3万亿立方英尺[1]。美国陆军工程兵团估计，扩建可能破坏中普拉克迈恩斯堂区约470英亩的湿地和水底[1]。现有终端每年获批释放约810万吨二氧化碳和其他温室气体[1]。
去年从该终端出口的833亿立方英尺天然气中，大部分运往欧洲，其中德国接收量最大，占19%[1]。特朗普去年宣布的国家能源紧急令涉及超过600个可加快审批的项目[1]。
环保人士对此表示担忧。健康湾政策主任Matt Rota指出"在Plaquemines堂区摧毁再多400英亩是荒唐的"[1]。环境诚信项目研究分析师Griffin Bird则质疑"很难看出扩建液化天然气出口终端如何能够帮助国内能源独立和可靠性"[1]。
The Trump administration's invocation of a national energy emergency is accelerating approval for an $18 billion expansion of the Plaquemines liquefied natural gas export terminal near New Orleans.[1] The expansion project would nearly double the facility's footprint from 590 acres to approximately 1,220 acres, positioning it as North America's largest LNG export terminal.[1] Under the emergency declaration, the standard 30-day public comment period has been compressed to just 10 days, with a deadline of July 2.[1]
The terminal's production capacity would increase from processing 14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas annually to 23 trillion cubic feet per year.[1] However, environmental advocates have raised serious concerns about the project's ecological costs. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates the expansion could destroy approximately 470 acres of wetlands and underwater habitat in Plaquemines Parish.[1] Matt Rota, policy director at Healthy Gulf, called the proposal misguided, stating that "destroying 400 more acres in Plaquemines Parish is ridiculous."[1] Griffin Bird, a research analyst with the Environmental Integrity Project, questioned the project's underlying rationale: "It's hard to see how expanding an LNG export terminal is going to help domestic energy independence and reliability."[1]
Currently, the terminal is permitted to release approximately 8.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases annually.[1] Last year, the facility exported 83.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas, with the majority directed to Europe, where Germany was the largest recipient at 19 percent of shipments.[1] The national energy emergency declaration, announced by Trump last year, encompasses over 600 projects eligible for expedited approval.[1]