San Juan LNG Terminal

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San Juan LNG Terminal is a floating LNG terminal currently near San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Location

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Project Details

• Owner: New Fortress Energy (100%)
• Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Coordinates: 18.461942, -66.110910 (approximate)
• Type: Import
• Capacity: 1.1 mtpa
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 2020
• Associated infrastructure: New Fortress Altamira FLNG Terminal

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Background

The San Juan LNG Terminal is a floating LNG regasification terminal offshore of Puerto Rico. Its capacity is 0.5 mtpa and it is fully owned by New Fortress Energy. The terminal began operating in early 2020, despite having neglected to obtain the customary Natural Gas Act authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

An investigation by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) discovered that the project's contract process was riddled with irregularities which provided unfair advantage to New Fortress Energy. In June 2020 the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order to the company to show cause, within 30 days, why the LNG terminal facilities were not subject to FERC’s jurisdiction under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act. The IEEFA report confirmed that New Fortress Energy had failed to seek FERC authorisation for the project.

In 2022, the US Federal Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled that New Fortress Energy had improperly sidestepped the FERC permitting process, and required the company to undergo an after-the-fact assessment of its operations. However, the court exempted NFE from holding public hearings and allowed the San Juan terminal to continue operating without an approved emergency response plan, prompting ongoing pushback from environmentalists and civil society organizations.

As of October 2024, the terminal continued to process incoming LNG shipments, including cargoes from New Fortress Energy's newly commissioned Altamira FLNG Terminal near Altamira, Mexico.

Opposition

The terminal supplies a PREPA gas-burning plant. The developer built the facility without FERC authorization, claiming the terminal is outside of the commission’s jurisdiction under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act. In March 2021, environmental groups were pushing PREPA to adopt renewable energy infrastructure more rapidly, and are calling for FERC to revisit the permitting process for the LNG terminal and to consider shutting it down. PREPA officials say the utility's strategy to continue burning gas is saving money compared with diesel-fired generation, while also lowering emissions.

Articles and resources

Related GEM.wiki articles

Wikipedia also has an article on San Juan LNG Terminal. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.