Welcome to Grid Brief! Here’s what we’re looking at today: LNG restart in Texas, court orders FERC to consider climate impacts of an approved LNG facility, and the Labour Part halts North Sea oil and gas development.

Freeport LNG Terminal Plans Restart

Freeport LNG has announced that it will begin a phased restart of its natural gas export facility. The plant was shut down as Hurricane Beryl slammed Texas a week ago, causing power outages and canceling several LNG tankers. The company will restart its first production line this week and its remaining lines shortly after.

The Freeport facility is one of the largest in the U.S. and can liquify as much as 2 percent of America’s daily gas production. The plant is designed to “produce 15 million metric tons of LNG annually,” per Bloomberg.

Federal Court Orders FERC to Go Back to the Drawing Board

A Federal Court of Appeals has ordered FERC to reconsider the climate impacts of an approved LNG facility in Louisiana.

In Healthy Gulf v. FERC, several environmental groups challenged FERC’s decision to authorize the facility, arguing that FERC did not comply with certain aspects of the National Environmental Policy Act and Natural Gas Act. Specifically, the plaintiffs contended that FERC did not adequately evaluate the project’s greenhouse gas and nitrous oxide impacts.

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with Healthy Gulf and directed FERC to reevaluate the climate impacts of the project, but did not reverse FERC’s approval of the facility.

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Conversation Starters

• Labour Party plans to halt North Sea oil permits (Financial Times)

  New Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is considering blocking a handful of North Sea oil permits that have already been processed. Labour also said that it will not support a new coal mine in Cumbria, which had the backing of the Conservative government.

• Solar is largest source of new energy capacity in the U.S. (Solar Power World)

  For the ninth month in a row, solar was the largest source of new capacity added in the U.S., according to data from FERC.

• How much will the ADVANCE Act help domestic nuclear energy? (Desert News)

  Amy Joi O'Donoghue explores the impact that the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act will have on Utah’s and America’s commercial nuclear industry.

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