Ms. Kimberly D. Bose
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street NE, Room 1A
Washington, DC 20426
Dear Ms. Bose:
The Institute for 21st Century Energy (the “Energy Institute”), an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region, encourages the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to expeditiously review Dominion’s application for a proposed liquefaction facility at Cove Point, Maryland (Docket No. PF12-16-000).
The Cove Point facility is ideally located near both the Marcellus and Utica Shale and is right in the middle of the Atlantic Coast. Simply put, this facility is uniquely located for serving Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern shale gas producers. Accordingly, the Cove Point project will provide marked economic development benefits for the entire Mid-Atlantic region, and the nation as a whole. These benefits will be significant during both the construction phase and during the facility’s operation.
An economic impact study produced by the Sage Policy group found that the proposed Cove Point project, itself approximately a $2.3 billion investment, has the potential during the construction phase to produce 10,700 job years in Calvert County, Maryland and 4,700 additional job years outside of Calvert County. At the peak of construction, estimated to occur in 2015, the site’s development will support approximately 3,000 jobs in Calvert County alone. Once the project is operational, Sage estimates that it will expand the value of the state of Maryland’s exports by 40 to 50 percent.
In addition to the notable economic development benefits of this project, Dominion also brings significant expertise to the table as one of the nation’s leading natural gas transporters and as the nation’s largest natural gas storage company. A healthy natural gas market and natural gas infrastructure developments are critical aspects of our nation’s economic prosperity. Further, in 2010 Dominion was named “Hero of the Chesapeake Bay” by the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Foundation for its continuing support of environmental programs in the Chesapeake Bay, demonstrating that Dominion has a history of successfully combining economic development with environmental stewardship in the Bay.
We are always appreciative of the professionalism that FERC brings to its myriad regulatory responsibilities and are mindful that you will be hearing from a wide range of stakeholders on this project. We appreciate your considering the Energy Institute’s letter as part of the Commission’s decision-making process.
Sincerely,
Karen A. Harbert
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