Building pipelines such as PennEast could add more than $148 billion to Pennsylvania and New Jersey’s economies and support more than 84,000 jobs per year.
A report out this month by researchers at ICF, commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute, shows private investment in U.S. natural gas and oil infrastructure could create over 1 million U.S. jobs and contribute $1.5 to $1.89 trillion to U.S. Gross Domestic Product between 2017 and 2035.
The PennEast Project constitutes just one piece of this projected nationwide investment.
Representing a billion-dollar project and supporting 12,000 jobs, the ultimate long-term value of the PennEast Pipeline is the stable low-cost natural gas and electricity prices that will be realized long after the right of way is restored and construction crews move on to their next job.
The new report investigates the scope of the economic opportunity and the amount of oil and natural gas infrastructure development likely in the U.S. over the next two decades. According to the study:
- Up to a million jobs could be supported.
- Up to $1.34 trillion in private natural gas and oil infrastructure investment could occur.
- Up to $1.89 trillion could be added to the U.S. GDP.
- All states would see advantages, looking at Pennsylvania and New Jersey specifically, from 2017 – 2035:
- Pennsylvania: energy infrastructure investment could support on average more than 69,000 jobs per year and generate more than $119 billion to the state’s GDP through 2035.
- New Jersey: Investments in energy infrastructure could support an average of more than 15,000 jobs per year and add more than $29 billion in GDP growth.
PennEast: A Vital Step To New Capacity
The PennEast Pipeline is a vital step towards upgrading the region’s natural gas pipeline capacity. PennEast’s capacity will increase the amount of low-cost natural gas flowing into local homes and businesses. PennEast will help continue to drive down energy costs and increase residents’ disposable income.
“Already, reliable access to energy has helped drive down utility, product and other energy-related costs providing a $1337 boost to the average American household in 2015,” said Kyle Isakower, API vice president of regulatory and economic policy.” U.S. industrial electricity costs are 30-50 percent lower than those of our foreign competitors, giving manufacturers – including producers of steel, chemicals, refined fuels, plastics, fertilizers and numerous other products – a major competitive advantage.”
Read the full economic infrastructure investment report at: http://www.api.org/~/media/Files/Policy/Infrastructure/API-Infrastructure-Study-2017.pdf
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