KPBS Midday Edition

Sempra Energy Banking On Fossil Fuels

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Pat Finn / Producer

Published May 16, 2019 at 8:01 AM PDT

This story was published more than 5 years ago.

An undated graphic rendering shows the Cameron LNG regasification terminal which sits on an industrial-zoned site along the Calcasieu Channel in Hackberry, Louisiana, approximately 18 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and within 35 miles of five major interstate pipelines.

Sempra Energy, the San Diego-based energy giant, has begun producing liquid natural gas (LNG) from its recently opened Cameron facility in Louisiana.

The huge plant will produce LNG for export to other nations and marks Sempra's entry into the global market. The first phase of production is expected to produce some 12 million tons of LNG per year and bring in up to $450 million annually.

The $10 billion Cameron plant is a joint partnership of Sempra, a French multinational and Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi. It was originally designed to import LNG, but times have changed, and the U.S. is now exporting the fuel.

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Sempra's LNG plant in Ensenada, south of Tijuana, was also conceived to import LNG. It is probable that it will be converted to export as well.

Rob Nikolewski, energy reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune, joins KPBS Midday Edition to discuss the new plant and Sempra's emergence as a major fossil fuel exporter.

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KPBS Midday Edition Energy

Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Pat Finn

Pat Finn previously served as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and KPBS Evening Edition. Finn began her career in broadcasting at KTLA and KCET in Los Angeles. In 1979 she became KPBS’ Public Information Director, then Director of Advertising and Promotion, Program Director, and Director of Broadcasting. She oversaw the station’s local and national productions, including the one-hour documentary Los Romeros: The Royal Family of the Guitar, and Child Protective Services, a one-hour look inside the San Diego County agency responsible for the welfare of at risk children. Both programs also aired on public television stations nationwide. Finn has earned honors from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

See stories by Pat Finn