Greenwashed “Security”: The Truth Behind Ireland’s LNG Terminal Plans

From Pennsylvania to the Shannon Estuary: A Shared Fight Against Fracked Gas

In December 2024, Eddie Mitchell, an Irish farmer, organizer, and politician came to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to talk about the longstanding fight in Ireland to stop fracking and now, liquefied natural gas imports at the FracTracker Community Sentinel Awards. Speaking to an audience of 275 people from across the U.S., Eddie recounted the tale of when fracking was proposed in Ireland’s Lough Allen gas basin back in 2011. This sparked an anti-fracking campaign in Ireland that was informed about the negative health impacts associated with unconventional gas development unfolding here in Pennsylvania and in other regions of the U.S. 

As a spokesperson for the group Love Leitrim, Mitchell helped build awareness, resistance, and cross-party political support for legislation that banned fracking on the Irish onshore in 2017. He and his collaborators built on that momentum, and in 2021, Ireland became the first country to issue a policy statement against fracked gas imports. However, the Irish Green Party leader’s 2023 proposal for an LNG terminal on the Shannon Estuary—now New Fortress Energy’s project for importing Pennsylvania fracked gas—threatens to undo these hard-won gains.

Eddie Mitchell speaking at the 2024 FracTracker Community Sentinel Awards. (Photo Credit: Sarah Carballo, FracTracker Alliance, 2024)

During his speech, Mitchell expressed solidarity with communities in the Appalachian Basin: “We are fighting now to protect the people upstream because we know that if we accept fracked gas imports, we will suffer a similar fate.”

On the U.S. front, environmental advocates working with the Center for Oil and Gas Organizing generated over 30,000 comments to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regarding its major report on LNG exports that was published in December 2024.

In January 2024, the Biden administration paused decisions on LNG exports to allow time for updated authorization analyses to be completed. The December 2024 Department of Energy (DOE) study confirmed that more LNG export projects are unnecessary since the export capacity of approved projects is enough to meet global demand for decades. U.S. LNG exports have surged since 2016 and the U.S. is currently the largest global exporter of LNG. In response to the war in Ukraine, the U.S. has stepped in to supply LNG to Europe as an alternative to Russian natural gas. However, Europe is reducing natural gas reliance, and global LNG markets face oversupply by the decade’s end.

The study also warned that unconstrained exports could raise wholesale natural gas prices by over 30%, adding up to $122 annually to household utility bills. Additionally, residents living near the eight operational LNG export terminals primarily located along the Gulf Coast face disproportionately high health risks and mortality rates due to pollution. In Pennsylvania, an expansion of LNG exports could lead to more fracking and additional gas infrastructure including export terminals, worsening both health and environmental impacts.

Despite this evidence, the pause on LNG export approvals was lifted under President Trump’s Executive Order 14154. At CERAWeek in Houston on March 10, 2025, Energy Secretary Chris Wright criticized renewable energy sources and vowed to expand oil and gas production and dismantle policy aimed at curbing climate change. He followed these statements with his approval of Delfin LNG’s expansion project in Louisiana, marking the fourth new LNG approval since the Trump administration took office.

With the recent closing of the DOE comment period, U.S. advocates stand at a pivotal moment: we can either lead the inevitable transition to renewable energy or cling to the past by continuing to invest billions in infrastructure that will lock our country and others into fossil fuel dependency for decades to come.

American advocates protecting communities against fracking in the Appalachian Basin speak at the Community Sentinel Awards. (Photo Credit: Sarah Carballo, FracTracker Alliance, 2024)

No Country for Fracked Gas: Ireland’s LNG Fight Heats Up

In March 2025, the Irish government approved the development of a state-led strategic gas emergency reserve in the form of a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU), ostensibly for “energy security” during the transition to renewables. While U.S. company New Fortress Energy has only recently taken the reins of the Shannon LNG terminal project in County Kerry (acquiring it in 2021), the project itself has been pursued by various companies for almost 20 years. Given the nearly two-decade-long push for LNG infrastructure in Ireland, it’s questionable whether this initiative is truly intended as a temporary bridge to a sustainable future or a commitment to long-term fossil fuel dependence.

The increasing energy demands of data centers in Ireland, and the resulting pressure on the country’s energy grid, create an argument—however flawed—for projects like the Shannon LNG terminal, which proponents frame as a necessary measure to ensure grid stability and meet these growing energy needs, despite the project’s clear contradiction of Ireland’s ambitious climate goals of 80% renewable electricity by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. This rationale, however, overlooks the potential for renewables to meet these demands and risks locking Ireland into long-term fossil fuel dependence, with significant financial implications, including reports of household electricity bills subsidizing data centers by hundreds of millions of euros annually.

Irish activists are standing firm against LNG, undeterred by the weight of corporate and political power. In response to the developments, Irish advocates with the Stop Shannon LNG Coalition continue to push for safeguards against the harmful health, climate, environmental, and economic impacts that would accompany imported LNG. 

“It’s not for energy security for households, it’s not for nursing homes, it’s not for hospitals, like some government members would lead you to believe. This LNG terminal is only necessary for Big Tech. The George Orwell 1984 nightmare coming true,” said Sinead Sheehan, a member of the Stop Shannon LNG Coalition, at a press conference held in Dublin, Ireland, on March 26, 2025. 

“This fracked gas will come from America to fill American-owned gas-guzzling data centers who host dark data used in military operations, privacy violations, and spread disinformation and misinformation to the end. With the online noise, it’s hard to hear us. But we will make our voices heard.”

However, the transatlantic geopolitical landscape has the potential to complicate plans for the LNG project. Escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and the EU, including the potential for tariffs and trade disputes, raise questions about the long-term reliability of importing American fracked gas. While the U.S. is aiming to be a key LNG supplier to Europe as it reduces reliance on Russian gas, renewed trade wars, like those seen during the first Trump administration over steel and aluminum, could easily disrupt the economic viability of the Shannon LNG terminal. Adding to this uncertainty is the volatility of energy costs, particularly notable as Ireland currently experiences the highest energy bills in Europe. These concerns are part of why activists are urging the Irish government to pursue energy security through domestically produced renewable and stable energy sources, rather than relying heavily on imported LNG from the United States.

Members of the Stop Shannon LNG Coalition protest in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo Credit: Michelle Roper, Stop Shannon LNG, 2025)

On March 26, the Limerick Post reported on a rally held in Dublin where activists protested with their concerns about the terminal. 

“Fracking is a public health concern, this is the reason we banned fracking in Ireland, because it is known to cause cancer through poisoning the water and the land,” said Sheehan of the Stop Shannon LNG Coalition. “If we support the importation of fracked gas, we lose the moral ground to maintain a ban on fracking in Ireland.”

The communities that fought fracking in Ireland–and who continue to oppose the ancillary LNG industry–understand that as long as there is gas in the ground beneath us, we need to remain vigilant and continue to fight against fracking everywhere. After all, if we don’t fight, we won’t win.

Cover photo by psyberartist (2012)