Cianbro floats plan for LNG Terminal would be in Corea

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BANGOR – Cianbro Corp., one of the state’s major employers, wants to build a $300 million liquefied natural gas facility at the now-closed U.S. Navy communications site in Corea, a community within the town of Gouldsboro.

The project, still in its initial development stages, could employ approximately 100 people in an area of the state where lobstering is the economic way of life – and lobster boats fill waterways that would have to be shared with 1,000-foot tankers en route to Cianbro’s proposed LNG terminal site.

To develop and build the LNG terminal, Cianbro is partnering with two Waterville attorneys, Mark and John Nale, Peter Vigue, president and chief executive officer of Cianbro, said Wednesday.

But Cianbro’s plan to build the input terminal is now without the partnership of a major energy supplier such as ConocoPhillips Co. and TransCanada Pipelines Ltd., two firms that for more than a year were considering locating a terminal in Harpswell. That effort divided the town, and, after residents voted against the project, it was essentially derailed.

Vigue said Wednesday that so far his company is going solo on the development of the LNG terminal. An energy company eventually will have to be secured to operate the facility, but only after meeting stringent partnership requirements being developed by Cianbro, he said.

“At such time that we can take this project through the public comment process, then we will select a partner,” Vigue said.

Pittsfield-based Cianbro has a 30-year history of constructing energy facilities. It recently completed two ocean-going oil rigs at the Portland Ocean Terminal that subsequently were shipped to south Atlantic and Caribbean waters. It is a partial owner of the “Neptune Project,” a high-voltage transmission line that will run under the Atlantic Ocean from the Maritime Provinces and Maine to Boston and New York City.

But Cianbro’s possible involvement with any of the major energy suppliers that in the last couple of years have said they were interested in building an LNG terminal in Maine has never been publicized.

Now, with Wednesday’s announcement of plans to construct an LNG terminal in Corea, Cianbro steps into the heated debate of whether an LNG terminal actually is needed in Maine and, if so, where it should go.

“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” said Beth Nagusky, director of the state Office of Energy Independence and Security.

She said “market perceptions” show that the demand for liquefied natural gas, particularly in New England, is outpacing limited supplies.

“[LNG] supplies from Canada are shrinking,” Nagusky said.

Other natural gas sources include the Middle East and Africa.

To be transported in a liquid state, natural gas has to be chilled to minus 259 degrees Fahrenheit. Once at its destination terminal, it undergoes a regasification process and is sent through pipelines.

Natural gas is used to power electricity

Power generators such as Duke’s Maine Independence plant in Veazie and International Paper’s mill in Bucksport burn natural gas to produce electricity.

Besides Harpswell, numerous coastal communities have been eyed as possible locations for an LNG input terminal, but so far only one town has embraced the idea – just barely.

Earlier this month, the Passamaquoddy voted 192-132 to authorize its Tribal Council to negotiate a lease with Quoddy Bay LLC of Tulsa, Okla., to build a terminal on 42 acres of tribal land at Pleasant Point. It is one of nine LNG terminals in various stages of development in New England, Quebec and the Maritimes.

Now the Gouldsboro community will decide whether it wants one there.

Cianbro’s proposed terminal would be located on 50 developed acres of the Navy’s 450-acre waterfront property, Vigue said.

The other 400 acres are considered to be a pristine environmental and wildlife heath whose ownership one day could be transferred from the Navy to the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife Service and included in the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge.

“We’ve gotten approval to accept the transfer, but the transfer hasn’t occurred yet,” said Walt Quist of the federal agency’s regional office in Hadley, Mass.

Compared to the other LNG site proposals, Vigue said the Corea location in Gouldsboro makes sense. The property is closer to the ocean’s deep-water routes than the others, the property already is developed with paved-road access to a state route, and it’s within reasonable proximity to the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, which transports natural gas from the Maritimes through Maine to the rest of New England.

“The Corea location is the best site in the state of Maine,” Vigue said. “There is direct access from the ocean. There are no navigation issues off the ocean [because] it’s a short distance from the deep-water routes. The water is of adequate depth to build such a facility without impacting the environment or having to dredge. The effect, the impact on the environment is negligible.”

Exactly where Cianbro’s proposed LNG terminal would connect with the pipeline remains under review.

“We will present a couple of different options for connection to the pipeline,” Vigue said. “One [route] could be as much as 40 miles and one could be as close as 22 miles.”

Cianbro will go into depth about the proposed LNG terminal at a public meeting of the Gouldsboro selectmen at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9. From there, public hearings will be held and eventually the community will vote on whether it wants an LNG terminal as a neighbor.

“We’re not looking to impose ourselves on the community,” Vigue said. “We’re not looking to tell them what to do.”

Gouldsboro Town Manager Bradford Vassey said that he would follow whatever direction the town selectmen give him. But, he said, he believes Cianbro faces “an uphill battle” to get the community to go along with the plans.

Vassey said the area, which has a valuation of $170 million, places a high value on its fishing and lobstering industries and the environment. They don’t want that to change.

He said Cianbro shouldn’t promote the Corea site as “the best” because that’s a matter of opinion.

“It’s not the right word,” Vassey said. “From a logistical and geological point of view, it may be the best. From the political point of view, it may not be the best. It’s going to be a very hard sell here.”

The town manager, however, said he will have “an open mind” about the project because one town in Maine eventually will end up with an LNG terminal.

“There is a need for it,” Vassey said. “The [natural gas] demand outstrips the supply. It will generate a lot of revenue for whatever town gets it. A lot of revenue.”

Vassey first met with Cianbro representatives about three weeks ago, “and from my limited contact that I had, they do have the best interests of Maine at heart.”

“If you think that it’s going to be pulled off anywhere, they would be the ideal company to do it,” Vassey continued. “That’s just my personal opinion.”

Raymond S. Jones, a retired IBM worker who is chairman of the Gouldsboro planning board, said he wants to review the plan before he states an opinion.

“I’m aware of it,” he said. “But I have not gotten all the facts. Until I do, I don’t have an opinion. I’m in the undecided group.”

Cianbro is not alone in looking at the Corea property. The University of Maine, which is expanding an aquaculture facility in Franklin, wants to spin off that operation in Corea. UMaine wants to create a halibut farm at Corea and have a commercial entity run it, employing two people at the start.

“I don’t think it would have too much impact on our tax base,” Vassey said. “On the other hand, the LNG plant would have a huge impact on our tax base.”

Jack Cashman, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said he hasn’t been involved in discussions with Cianbro about its LNG plans.

“I assume [Vigue’s] done some due diligence and he’s picked it for a reason,” Cashman said. “[Gov. John Baldacci’s] position has been and continues to be that it’s up to the community to decide.”