NH climate groups oppose revival of Constitution pipeline project

New Hampshire environmental activists said they are prepared to fight the revived Constitution pipeline project.

Previously defeated in 2020, the pipeline would carry natural gas from Pennsylvania into New York and up through New England.

Rebecca Beaulieu, communications director for the advocacy group 350NH Action, said further reliance on fossil fuels will only make climate disasters worse and jeopardize the health of local communities.

“We will be partnering with our friends in New York when it comes time to fight this pipeline from ever being built,” Beaulieu explained.

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte said the pipeline is needed to increase gas supplies and help lower household energy prices but Beaulieu countered the pipeline’s developer, the Williams Companies, has never shown just how their project would bring rates down.

New England relies on natural gas for more than half of its electricity and home heating needs. Energy experts said the federal budget bill, passed earlier this summer, will increase annual household energy bills in the Granite State by more than $300 a year by 2035.

Meanwhile, Beaulieu pointed out a record number of residential solar installations is being added to the grid, helping lower peak energy demand prices.

“The bills that are being passed in Washington and in New Hampshire that are getting us hooked on fossil fuels for longer are ignoring the clean, renewable energy resources that we have here locally that we don’t need to import,” Beaulieu contended.

So far, the Trump administration has canceled the federal Solar for All program and sought to remove the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Beaulieu noted other natural gas pipelines have been proposed across New England, including the Kinder Morgan and Granite Bridge projects. Each met with widespread opposition.

Related: We, asked you answered: How climate change is impacting Granite Staters’ daily lives