Just up the Mystic River from the Tobin Bridge lies the Everett Marine Terminal (EMT), the country's oldest continually operating liquified natural gas (LNG) import plant of its kind. However, since operations commenced at this facility more than a half-century ago in 1971, economic circumstances, public perception, and the evolving energy industry have all coalesced to form a continually uncertain future for the operation of the giant LNG tanks that sit just north of Boston’s downtown and harbor.
LNG has acquired a reputation as a relatively low-impact fossil fuel. Though some argue it to be a greenwashing ploy of the oil and gas industry, natural gas has found success in today’s energy market as an alternative fuel choice to traditional oil or coal. A document shared by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts explains, as of October 7, 2024, “In Massachusetts, approximately 51% of residences use natural gas for heating; similarly, today, 55% of electricity consumed by Massachusetts electric customers is produced by facilities using natural gas.”
Composed of a cocktail of regular natural gas, methane, and ethane, LNG is chilled to and must be stored at a temperature of -265° Fahrenheit—simply put, the two 180-feet tall tanks of the EMT are giant, extremely cold freezers. Under these conditions, LNG takes up just 1/600th of the substance’s original volume. When needed, LNG can then undergo the so-called regasification process to be transported in pipelines and used in commercial, industrial, and residential contexts.
The value of natural gas has, amidst cold New England winters, proven itself time and again. In fact, according to the aforementioned report from the Commonwealth, “EMT and [the other natural gas holding facilities supplied by EMT via truck] can collectively meet as much as 35% of natural gas demand on a peak winter day.” In spite of this demand, however, the EMT was nearly shut down in the spring of 2024.
Immediately abutting EMT is Mystic Generating Station, both under the common ownership of Constellation Energy. Mystic Generating Station served as a ‘peaker’ plan; it ran inefficiently and as needed to ease surges in demand on the grid. This dated plant, one of the top five worst emitting power production facilities in the state, was shut down in the spring, leaving the economics of maintaining operations at EMT—a facility that directly employs 60 people and supports thousands of other jobs in the industry—up in the air. Regional utility companies stepped in, arguing that due to the New England region’s disconnect from domestic LNG pipelines—previous proposals for such pipelines have been shut down—maintaining EMT is essential in order to meet heating demands on the coldest New England days.
As per a document from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s Office of Energy Transformation, contracts to maintain the EMT in its current capacity until 2030 have been executed by the state’s three largest utilities and approved by the Commonwealth. The document additionally explains, “In its order approving the contracts, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) required that the utilities establish plans to move beyond reliance on fossil fuel infrastructure and natural gas, including the EMT LNG facility, and expeditiously toward electrification and other alternatives, like geothermal.” When the decade eventually turns and the recently enacted contracts expire, EMT will almost certainly face similar threats of closure, driven by continually developing circumstances, external pressure, and now the stipulations of the DPU.