to supply liquid-to-gas natural gas conversion barges to the Autoridad de Energia Electrica's southern unit at Aguirre, proving that it is feasible to deliver gas directly to Salinas. The government had claimed that off-shore barges were not a viable alternative. In an article titled Barcazas pueden sustituir Gasoducto del Norte (Barges can substitute Gasoducto del Norte) it was reported that barges are a viable alternative to gas pipelines. On 30 May 2012, the Puerto Rico Senate held hearings on the project and found that "the temporary transition to propane gas and the future delivery of natural gas via offshore vessels and submarine gas pipelines are viable alternatives, both from the technical as well as the financial perspectives", to pipelines. References External links Environment of Puerto Rico