The fight to prevent NY from becoming a fossil fuel distribution center 

Right now, federal authorities are considering a proposal to build the Port Ambrose LNG Project, a deep water liquified natural gas import facility near New York Harbor, at an offshore site between Jones Beach, NY and Long Branch, NJ...

Approval of the project will introduce a host of serious threats to our coastal communities and ecosystems, and deny New Yorkers the choice of other more responsible and sustainable energy projects, such as the Long Island – New York City Offshore Wind Project that has been proposed for the same stretch of ocean.

The Port Ambrose Project has been proposed by Liberty Natural Gas LLC, which specifies in its application that the facility would be for importing LNG from abroad. However, with the abundance of natural gas in the United States, record low domestic gas prices, and higher gas prices overseas, Liberty would have strong incentive to eventually apply to convert Port Ambrose into an LNG export facility.

New Yorkers should have a choice about whether we proliferate the infrastructure for dirty, climate change causing fossil fuels, or build infrastructure to accelerate the move to clean, renewable energy.

Approval of the Port Ambrose LNG Project would further shackle us to our dangerous fossil fuel past, and could ultimately encourage increased pressure to frack in nearby states like Pennsylvania to produce more natural gas for export.

As a possible alternative, the Offshore Wind Project would generate 350 megawatts and could be expanded up to 700 MW – which would make it the largest offshore wind project in the country. 

The Port Ambrose LNG Project is an inherent threat to our safety and security, and could be a target for terrorists.

In contrast, the Offshore Wind Project would increase Long Island's and the Rockaways' resiliency in facing a future extreme weather event.  In his research, Mark Z. Jacobson of Stanford University found that wind turbines could reduce peak wind speeds by up to 92 mph as well as decrease storm surge by up to 79 percent.

The Port Ambrose LNG Project would threaten the coastal and oceanic environment and exacerbate climate change, given that LNG has a carbon footprint 40% greater than domestic shale gas, which is already up to 120 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.  The coastal communities located closest to Port Ambrose would likely bear the brunt of those impacts. 

At even 40 percent of capacity, the 350 MW wind farm could generate approximately 1,226,000 megawatt-hours per year, which is enough energy for about 112,000 homes.

The bottom line is that approval of the Port Ambrose LNG Project would deny New Yorkers the ability to chose other, more sensible energy infrastructure development projects like the Offshore Wind Project.

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the US Coast Guard (USCG) will soon make a decision about whether to approve the Port Ambrose Project.  If these agencies approve Port Ambrose, both Governor Cuomo and Governor Christie will still have the power to veto it.

Make your voice heard, and let federal and state authorities know that we want a choice when it comes to our energy future.

Click here to tell Governor Cuomo and Governor Christie to VETO PORT AMBROSE 

Click here to submit comments to the USCG

Please call the Governors now to tell them that they must veto Port Ambrose.

Governor Christie: (609) 292-6000

Governor Cuomo: (518) 474-8390

Here's a link to an installment of the great short film series "Love NY: Don't Frack it Up", highlighting the potential impacts of Port Ambrose on the communities of the Rockaways.

And to find out more about renewable energy and how we can reduce our dependency on fossil fuel, please click here.