The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the full operation of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Gas from West Virginia will now flow. Environmentalist heads are exploding, but this is the best news for Western Virginia’s economy in a long while, and an encouraging sign of hope for energy sanity.
A decade ago both this 303-mile, 42-inch line and the long-abandoned Atlantic Coast Pipeline project were announced, and more than one prognosticator doubted both would be built. But it is important to remember both started with bipartisan support, in an era before Democrats sold their souls to foreign wind and solar manufacturers.
The regulatory and legal battle has been impressive, with the result being mainly delay and higher cost. But they didn’t stop the project in the end. The added costs will end up as part of any future customer bills, but the underlying cost of gas itself remains low and very competitive against any and all energy alternatives.
As the attached map shows, there are taps for the local gas distribution networks in the Roanoke Valley and in nearby Franklin County, which should be magnets for future industry. The pipeline owners claim the gas is fully subscribed — two billion cubic feet a day of heat, light, and economic value.
Now on to the project needed to shore up natural gas supply into the Hampton Roads region, which would have been served by the failed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. — SDH