DOE Study Fuels Debate Over LNG Export Policy

The Department of Energy (DOE) has released a study warning that expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports could raise domestic energy prices and exacerbate climate impacts, sparking criticism from the incoming Trump administration and backlash from the business community and energy industry. The DOE released its long-awaited study on the economic and environmental impacts of LNG exports on Dec. 17, with the report coming after President Joe Biden in January halted approvals of LNG exports to big consumers in Asia and Europe so that has administration could carry out the analysis. “Unfettered exports of LNG would increase wholesale domestic natural gas prices by over 30 percent,’’ costing American households an additional $100 a year by 2050, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement on the study, which also found that increased U.S. exports of LNG would displace renewable energy sources like wind and solar, and lead to sharply higher global greenhouse gas emissions....