In this Center Square article, Cardinal’s executive director, Garrett Ballengee, is quoted on the negative economic ramifications for the recently-canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline project:

Garrett Ballengee, the executive director of the West Virginia-based, free-market Cardinal Institute, told The Center Square the pipeline’s cancelation hurts families that were going to rely on its construction, the regional economy and state and local tax revenue, all of which have been hurt by the response to COVID-19. He said it also will have a negative effect on the environment because it will force the region to rely on more carbon-intensive energy sources.

“I think it’s also a defeat for progress, as it’s becoming clearer that the nexus of regulatory, judicial, and activist pressure makes it increasingly unlikely that large-scale, positively impactful, energy-creating projects will even be attempted, let alone completed,” Ballengee said. “I think many people forget that a modern world and modern economy relies on consistent, reliable and cheap energy, and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is yet another indicator that few people consider energy policy in a thoughtful, reasoned or even pragmatic way. It’s a sad day for West Virginia, and it’s a sad day for progress.”