Stuck at the wrong end of North America's natural gas pipelines, Massachusetts has relied on boatloads of liquefied natural gas to supplement pipeline gas for more than 30 years. The need for LNG has spiked in recent years as power producers have turned to this fuel for the region's newest -- and cleanest -- fossil fuel electricity plants. The safest terminals for unloading LNG are offshore, far away from residential neighborhoods, so it is reassuring to see that plans for two such ports are moving ahead. Both would be 8 miles or more from the coast, southeast of Gloucester. The owner of one would be Excelerate Energy of Texas, which for more than a year has been operating an offshore LNG port in the Gulf of Mexico.