Saving Seafood

DC Circuit upholds FERC approval of Louisiana LNG terminal

August 26, 2026 — A federal appeals court has roundly rejected environmental groups’ challenge to the federal government’s approval of a massive liquefied natural gas export terminal and pipeline in Louisiana.

On Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission complied with federal law when it authorized construction of Venture Global’s CP2 LNG terminal and its associated 91-mile CP Express pipeline in 2025.

“Leaving no stone unturned, [the challengers] improbably allege the Commission committed no fewer than eleven errors under the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),” wrote Senior Judge Douglas Ginsburg, a Reagan appointee, in the opinion for the court.

Read the full article at E&E News

Termination of Gulf of Maine leases casts further uncertainty over offshore wind

July 7, 2026 — The termination of two federal leases in the Gulf of Maine present the latest layer of uncertainty for offshore wind projects, once thought to be key to Maine’s energy secure, low-carbon future.

Last month, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced a settlement agreement with Chicago-based Invenergy, which included the termination of offshore wind leases in Maine, California and New York.

“It’s a bad deal for Mainers, at a time when energy is getting more and more expensive, we are spending public dollars to not build energy resources and to not bring electricity prices down,” said Nick Janzen with Maine Conservation Voters.

As part of the agreement, the federal government will reimburse Invenergy up to $765 million, which the company will then reinvest in natural gas-fired power plants and geothermal power generation projects.

The administration of President Donald Trump has cited “national security concerns” about the development of offshore wind as the reason for terminating leases, and stopping work on other projects.

“Rather than waiting years for the projects to materialize, the Trump administration is prioritizing investments in existing infrastructure and functioning supply chains that can create jobs now and deliver economic benefits faster,” an Interior spokesperson said in a statement last week.

Read the full article at Spectrum News

Trump administration to buy back another energy company’s offshore wind leases for 4 more projects

June 18,2026 — The Trump administration said Wednesday it’s buying back another energy company’s U.S. offshore wind leases for four more wind projects, as it seeks to discourage the expansion of wind energy in favor of fossil fuels.

The latest deal brings the total amount spent on these agreements to nearly $2.6 billion.

Chicago-based Invenergy has agreed to end its four offshore wind leases that were very early in development in exchange for reimbursements of lease fees totaling $765 million. The company had already canceled the largest of the four in November, Leading Light Wind off New Jersey’s coast. The others are off the coasts of Maine and California. It will invest that money in natural gas and geothermal ventures that can be built more quickly instead.

By buying back leases, the Republican administration is stopping offshore wind farms that President Donald Trump does not support, and redirecting the money to fossil fuel projects that he does. It adopted this strategy after federal courts thwarted Trump’s efforts to stop offshore wind development through executive action. Trump has frequently talked about his hatred of wind power and calls turbines ugly.

Read the full article at The Associated Press

A new mega-utility is at ground zero for AI. Here’s what could happen.

May 19, 2026 — Few energy companies have navigated the Trump era like NextEra Energy.

The White House selected the Florida-based power giant to build a pair of massive natural gas plants in Pennsylvania and Texas in March, as part of a wider $550 billion trade deal with Japan. But even as NextEra embraced President Donald Trump’s call for more gas, its executives made clear during their quarterly appearances before financial analysts that they believed renewables and batteries are the quickest ways to meet soaring energy demands from data centers.

Now, NextEra’s proposed $67 billion merger with Virginia-based Dominion Energy stands to test those competing strategies on the front lines of artificial intelligence.

Read the full article at E&E News

LOUISIANA: Local fishers challenge Louisiana natural gas project

October 17, 2025 — Commercial fishers from the U.S. state of Louisiana have challenged the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of a new natural gas project in their state, work on which resulted in dredged sediment spilling out into the surrounding marsh and burying crab taps and oyster beds.

“I’ve fished these waters most of my life. Since the first terminal came online, our catch has fallen off a cliff,” Cameron Parish, Louisiana-based commercial fisher Anthony Theriot said in a release. “More tankers mean more wake, more delays in the channel, and more mud stirred up where shrimp and oysters should be. The quality of our lives, air, and waters are declining, and FERC just approved this massive, incredibly harmful project on top of everything else. We’re fighting for a future where our kids can still work these waters.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource