Protest: No to NM Gas Co. LNG Facility, 1/20

What: In person public protest against approving the NM Gas Company’s proposed liquid natural gas storage facility.

Where: NM Gas Co. HQ at 7120 Wyoming Blvd NE #20th, Albuquerque, NM 87109

When: Noon – 1pm Jan. 20, 2023

Description: 350 New Mexico is calling a January 20 demonstration at the New Mexico Gas Company Albuquerque headquarters demanding that the NM PRC refuse permission for construction of the Rio Rancho CNG storage facility. The noon demonstration will be at 7120 Wyoming Blvd NE #20th (at Harper) just north of the Cherry Hills Public Library.

The New Mexico Gas Company has asked the NM Public Regulatory Commission for permission to build a major CNG facility. The NM Gas Company is owned by Emera Energy, a $36B Canadian utility holding company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The westside facility would include a compressor station to liquify methane and storage tanks. This $180M project could begin construction as early as 2024 and would presumably be paid for by the NM Gas Company rate payers.

While many are working to turn off the gas by electrifying building heating through the installation of federally subsidized electric heat pump technology, the NM Gas Company is proposing a many decades-long investment in fossil fuel infrastructure contrary to the US commitment to the IPCC goal of no new fossil fuel infrastructure. LNG facilities are a notorious source of methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas.

The NM Gas Company demonstration is part of the national call to action by the People vs Fossil Fuels Coalition to honor Joye Braun on her birthday. Joye was a fierce defender of Indigenous sovereignty, human rights, and environmental and climate justice. She played an instrumental role in stopping KXL, fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline, and elevating the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). Action map