Broadwater Energy

Broadwater Energy was the name used for a proposed liquefied natural gas import and regasification terminal in Long Island Sound, between New York and Connecticut. The project was developed by Broadwater Energy L.L.C., a joint venture of TransCanada Corporation and Shell Oil, to receive LNG carriers, convert the cargo back into gaseous form, and deliver the gas into the regional pipeline network. Unlike a conventional land-based LNG facility, the proposal centered on a floating storage and regasification unit, or FSRU, intended to remain offshore in the central Sound. The proposed facility would have been positioned approximately nine miles north of Wading River, New York, and about ten miles south of New Haven, Connecticut. Project materials described a floating structure roughly 1,200 feet long and 180 feet wide, with the visible superstructure rising approximately 75 to 80 feet above the water. The facility was designed to store as much as eight billion cubic feet of natural gas and to deliver up to one billion cubic feet per day into the Iroquois Gas Transmission system. A separate subsea pipeline of approximately 22 miles would have connected the terminal to the existing interstate pipeline near the Nissequogue area of Long Island. Broadwater Energy presented the project as a way to increase natural-gas supply, potentially lower consumer costs, diversify regional energy infrastructure, and provide a fuel source that produced fewer conventional air emissions than oil. The company also emphasized that an offshore terminal would avoid constructing a large industrial facility onshore. Its proposal nevertheless faced sustained opposition from residents, environmental groups, Connecticut officials, and several prominent New York elected officials. Critics raised concerns about navigation, marine ecosystems, water and air quality, homeland security, the visual effect on the Sound, and the adequacy of federal oversight. The project received federal authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in March 2008 after agency staff concluded that its environmental effects would be limited. That approval did not settle the matter because New York retained a decisive role under coastal and state permitting processes. Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell and other Connecticut officials urged New York to reject the terminal, while New York politicians including Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton and Representative Tim Bishop expressed opposition or serious reservations. The political controversy intensified after Broadwater lobbyist Bruce Gyory was hired by Governor Eliot Spitzer as an adviser, although Spitzer did not take a formal position on the proposal. On April 10, 2008, New York Governor David Paterson rejected the Broadwater plan, stating that it was not appropriate for Long Island Sound. The developer retained a potential right to appeal to the U.S. Department of Commerce, but the state rejection prevented the proposed terminal from proceeding as planned. Broadwater Energy therefore remained a proposed infrastructure project rather than an operating energy brand or facility.

Broadwater Energy was created as the project identity for a proposed offshore LNG terminal in Long Island Sound. The development was structured through Broadwater Energy L.L.C., a joint venture involving TransCanada Corporation and Shell Oil. Its purpose was to expand regional natural-gas import capacity without building a major LNG receiving plant on the shoreline. The central feature was a floating storage and regasification unit. LNG carriers would have delivered liquefied natural gas to the offshore platform, where the cargo would have been stored and warmed until it returned to gaseous form. The gas would then have entered the Iroquois Gas Transmission pipeline through a dedicated subsea connection. Project specifications described a platform about 1,200 feet long and 180 feet wide, with storage capacity of approximately eight billion cubic feet and a planned delivery rate of up to one billion cubic feet per day. The proposal also included about 22 miles of connecting pipeline. Broadwater argued that the offshore design could supply additional gas to the northeastern United States, support lower energy costs, and reduce the need for an industrial installation on land. The company also characterized natural gas as cleaner-burning than oil and presented the floating format as a way to limit direct onshore construction. These claims were contested by opponents who maintained that the project could harm the Sound's marine environment, affect water and air quality, create security and navigation risks, and impose an undesirable visual and industrial presence near residential coastal communities. Opposition came from both sides of the Sound. Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell communicated her objections to New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, while New York Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton and Representative Tim Bishop also opposed or questioned the proposal. Debate extended beyond environmental review to the division of authority between federal and state governments, including concerns that federal legislation might allow the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to override local objections. The hiring of Broadwater lobbyist Bruce Gyory as an adviser to Governor Spitzer also drew public attention, although Spitzer did not formally endorse or reject the terminal. In January 2008, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff concluded that the project would have only limited environmental impacts. The commission then voted unanimously on March 20, 2008, and issued federal approval on March 21. Federal approval was not sufficient to begin construction because New York controlled important state and coastal permitting decisions for the proposed location. Governor David Paterson, who succeeded Spitzer in March 2008, considered the state decision amid substantial political and public opposition. On April 10, 2008, Paterson rejected the Broadwater plan, declaring that it was not what Long Island Sound needed. Although the developer retained a possible avenue of appeal to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the state rejection ended the project in its proposed form. Broadwater Energy consequently became associated with a discontinued energy-infrastructure proposal rather than an operating terminal or continuing consumer-facing business.

• 2008

  Federal environmental review advances

  [1]Broadwater Energyen.wikipedia.org

  Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff concluded that the proposed terminal would have limited environmental impacts.

• 2008

  FERC approves the project

  [1]Broadwater Energyen.wikipedia.org

  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted unanimously to approve the proposed LNG terminal in March 2008.

• 2008

  New York rejects Broadwater

  [1]Broadwater Energyen.wikipedia.org

  Governor David Paterson rejected the project on April 10, preventing the proposed terminal from proceeding through the planned state permitting path.

An offshore natural-gas infrastructure proposal positioned as a lower-onshore-impact alternative to a conventional LNG import terminal.

• Liquefied natural gas terminal

  Broadwater floating storage and regasification unit

  The proposed centerpiece of the Broadwater project was an offshore floating storage and regasification unit. It would have received LNG from ships, stored the fuel, warmed it back into gaseous form, and transferred it into the regional pipeline system. The planned unit was described as approximately 1,200 feet long and 180 feet wide, with storage capacity of about eight billion cubic feet and a maximum delivery rate of roughly one billion cubic feet per day. It was never constructed.

• Natural-gas pipeline connection

  Iroquois Gas Transmission connection

  The proposal included a subsea pipeline approximately 22 miles long linking the offshore terminal to the Iroquois Gas Transmission pipeline near the Nissequogue area of Long Island. This connection was intended to move regasified LNG into the existing interstate gas network. It remained a planned component and was not built as part of Broadwater Energy.

• 2008

  Offshore terminal strategyStrategy

  Background

  Broadwater Energy proposed using a floating storage and regasification unit rather than constructing a conventional LNG receiving facility onshore.

  Action taken

  The project planned to receive LNG at sea, regasify it offshore, and send the resulting natural gas through a subsea connection to the Iroquois Gas Transmission pipeline.

  Aftermath

  The offshore format did not overcome environmental, security, visual-impact, and political objections, and New York ultimately rejected the project.

  Source

• 2008

  New York state rejectionOther

  Background

  Although the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the terminal, New York retained authority over important state and coastal permits.

  Action taken

  Governor David Paterson rejected the Broadwater plan on April 10, 2008.

  Aftermath

  The proposed terminal could not proceed as planned, leaving the development discontinued despite its federal approval.

  Source

1. 1Broadwater Energyen.wikipedia.org