Providence legislators oppose ‘dangerous’ new LNG development

From an Article by Steve Ahlquist on August 3, 2016

A group of Providence elected officials announced their strong opposition to a proposal by National Grid to develop a new fracked gas liquefaction facility at Fields Point in South Providence. Citing concerns ranging from costs to ratepayers, safety risks and climate impact, the legislators — including Representatives Joseph S. Almeida (D-Dist. 12, Providence), Grace Diaz (D-Dist. 11, Providence), Aaron Regunberg (D-Dist. 4, Providence), Chris Blazejewski (D-Dist. 2, Providence), Edith H. Ajello (D-Dist. 1, Providence) and John J. Lombardi (D-Dist. 8, Providence) and Senators Juan Pichardo (D-Dist. 2, Providence), Gayle Goldin (D-Dist. 3, Providence) and Sen. Harold M. Metts (D-Dist. 6, Providence) — called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reject National Grid’s application, and warned the City of Providence against signing a tax stabilization agreement with the utility to facilitate the project.

Last summer, National Grid submitted a proposal to FERC to develop a $180 million facility to produce Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) directly from a Spectra Energy pipeline that delivers fracked gas from Marcellus Shale to Providence. LNG is produced by cooling natural gas to -260°F, which reduces its volume by 600 times and puts it into liquid form. As described in its application, National Grid would then utilize tanker trucks to export the LNG produced in Providence, primarily to locations in Massachusetts.

“No matter how you look at it, this project is a money-maker for the utility at the expense of our community and our state,” said Representative Almeida. “National Grid is asking us, the ratepayers, to foot the $180 million bill for this project, for what? So they can increase their own profits by exporting LNG out of the state! This does nothing to benefit our constituents, and it does nothing to benefit my neighbors on the South Side. All this proposal will do is transfer money from ratepayers’ pockets to National Grid’s coffers, and we’re not going to accept it.”

Legislators also expressed concerns about the safety risks of the proposed project.

“LNG is a dangerous substance,” said Representative Diaz. “Just two years ago, an LNG facility in Washington state exploded, causing an evacuation of everyone within a two-mile area. If that were to happen at this site, all of my constituents would be in danger. Why is it always our community that must shoulder the collateral damage and safety risks from these toxic projects?”

LNG is stable in liquid form, and without air it is not flammable. However, at any temperature over -260°F it converts to methane gas and expands by 600 times, rapidly pressurizing any sealed container. If LNG spills and mixes with airs, it becomes highly flammable and potentially explosive.

“I remember when Keyspan, which has since been bought by National Grid, applied to FERC with a similar proposal to build an LNG import facility at Fields Point in 2005,” said Senator Pichardo. “That application was denied due to the very real safety concerns of this kind of development. In fact, FERC Commissioner Nora Brownell cited the risks of accidents and explosions when turning down the proposal, stating that the project would not meet current federal safety standards. If doubling down on this dangerous fuel was unsafe ten years ago, it is unsafe for our neighborhood today, and I urge FERC to once again listen to the community’s opposition to this harmful development.”

Finally, the elected officials demanded that the climate consequences of the expanded fossil fuel infrastructure be taken into account.

“The science on climate change is clear. If my generation is to have any chance of inheriting an Ocean State with any state left in it, we need to transition to a clean energy economy as quickly as possible. This proposal would sink millions of ratepayer dollars into unnecessary new fossil fuel infrastructure that would be used for decades past our climate’s point of no return, and that is a betrayal of our children,” said Representative Regunberg. “Mayor Jorge Elorza and the Providence City Council have taken credit for being leaders on climate and environmental issues. But if the city awards a tax stabilization agreement to National Grid to support this project, then it is our belief that the mayor and council can no longer claim this kind of climate leadership. We hope they will do the right thing and tell National Grid that Providence will not facilitate this wasteful, ratepayer-funded, environmentally catastrophic scheme.”

The Providence legislators reported that they are submitting letters detailing their concerns to FERC, joining a growing list of community members and neighborhood organizations opposing National Grid’s application.

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

Millennium gas pipeline project

Marcellus natural gas takeaway pipeline projects advance

From an Article by Brett Wessler, Dairy Herd News, February 21, 2014

Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved three projects to increase natural gas takeaway capacity from the Marcellus Shale formation. On February 11, FERC approved the TEAM 2014 project expansions on Spectra’s Texas Eastern Transmission Co. (Tetco) pipeline. TEAM stands for Texas Eastern Appalachia to Market. The next day, FERC issued an environmental impact statement (EIS) on a new pipeline and related compressor station project—Williams’s Constitution Pipeline and the Iroquois Pipeline’s Wright Interconnect Project (WIP). The EIS recommended conditional approval for the two projects, pending the adoption of measures to mitigate their environmental impact. WIP has a projected in-service date of March 2015, while the Constitution Pipeline projects the beginning of service in late 2015 or 2016.

The TEAM 2014 project would provide Tetco with capacity to move an additional 0.59 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) out of the Marcellus from interconnects in southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Expansions would allow for bidirectional flows on portions of Tetco that currently only flow gas from the Gulf and Rockies Express Pipeline into the Northeast. Two shippers—Chevron and EQT Energy—have contracted for the full amount of the capacity expansions. Rockies Express deliveries into the Northeast have declined over the past two years, and in November, FERC upheld a petition from Rockies Express Pipeline LLC allowing for the establishment of firm agreements to reverse direction and move gas east-to-west on the pipeline.

Chevron booked 0.29 Bcf/d of capacity to move gas on the expanded Tetco pipeline from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, to Lambertville, New Jersey, where Tetco connects with Spectra’s Algonquin Gas Transmission (AGT) pipeline. EQT Energy booked the remaining 0.29 Bcf/d of firm capacity to move 0.24 Bcf/d of Marcellus gas south to Tetco’s AA market zone in the Gulf of Mexico region, and 0.05 Bcf/d west to Lebanon, Ohio, where Tetco connects with the Rockies Express system. Outflows from the Northeast to other parts of the country as a result of these expansions would further decrease net flows of natural gas into the northeastern United States. These decreased flows have largely resulted from increasing Marcellus production, which enabled the Northeast to satisfy a greater portion of its own demand, and increasingly, send gas to other regions. TEAM 2014 would also help alleviate capacity constraints in transporting natural gas to northeastern markets, which contribute to high natural gas and power prices during periods of peak demand.

FERC also issued an EIS that recommended the construction, with modifications to the original plan, of the Constitution Pipeline. This pipeline would deliver up to 0.64 Bcf/d of Marcellus gas from Susquehanna County, in northeastern Pennsylvania, to Wright, New York, where the Wright Compressor Station is currently located. Iroquois would build a new compressor station at an adjacent facility under WIP, and modify the existing compressor station. Cabot Oil & Gas has a binding agreement for 0.49 Bcf/d of firm capacity on the Constitution Pipeline, while Southwestern Energy has an agreement for the remaining 0.15 Bcf/d.

The Iroquois Pipeline currently transports gas south to the Wright Compressor Station from its interconnect with TransCanada’s Canadian Mainline in Waddington, New York. At Wright, Iroquois interconnects with Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) northern 200 line, which can flow gas to New England customers via its interconnect with AGT south of Boston, but has delivered increasing amounts of natural gas to the Canadian Mainline via its Niagara Falls interconnect with TransCanada.

The Constitution Pipeline’s ability to move Marcellus production to northeastern consumers would significantly benefit from construction of TGP’s planned Northeast Expansion Project. This project would take gas from Wright to Dracut, Massachusetts, where it would connect with TGP’s existing pipeline as well as a line jointly operated by Spectra’s Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline and the Portland Natural Gas Transmission System. Open season for firm capacity agreements on the Northeast Expansion Project began on February 13, and will continue until March 28. Project capacity could range from 0.60 Bcf/d to 2.20 Bcf/d, according to TGP documents.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Natural gas pipeline firm eyes $2 billion expansion in Pa.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette (Associated Press), February 21, 2014

Tulsa, Okla.-based Williams Partners says it’s planning to seek approval for a $2.1 billion natural gas pipeline project in Pennsylvania that it hopes to complete in 2017. Williams said the proposed Atlantic Sunrise project is designed to transfer more natural gas from Marcellus Shale-producing areas in northern Pennsylvania to heavily populated East Coast markets.

The project will include adding capacity and compression to the Transco Leidy line near Wilkes-Barre and adding a new section, the Central Penn Line, to connect it to the Transco mainline about 100 miles away in southern York County, Williams officials said. It has yet to get permits or seek approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Williams Partners is a subsidiary of The Williams Companies Inc., which operates 15,000 miles of interstate natural gas pipelines.

Northeast pipelines

“Iso New England” has recently published a draft report raising the specter of a period of severe winter weather without electricity in New England. The gas supply pipelines may soon lack capacity to carry enough energy to heat homes and generate electricity. This is unlikely at present, but possible changes could allow it to happen, the report suggests.

In New England, natural gas to generate electricity is a relatively new thing, rising from 5% in 1990 to 51% in 2011.  A continuing increase in the share of gas  may occur. At the same time, there is a dramatic shift from heating oil to gas for heating homes and businesses. Transmission capacity is fixed, so a sudden increase in use, caused by an extended cold snap, could produce a demand that could not be supplied, causing a condition that could be met only by reducing electrical production.

The older fuels, coal and oil for electricity, and heating oil for homes were both largely stockpiled before the beginning of the winter. Gas storage areas are remote and a on a local basis gas must be supplied by on demand flow. Additional problems recognized in the report which result in sufficient supply are “other stressed conditions” and some kind of failure of the transportation system for gas.

Another problem is that gas must be contracted for in advance of delivery. Gas users can not withdraw more than the contracted amount. Gas suppliers expect a uniform around-the-clock flow, but electrical generators have a daily peak in the afternoon. In some cases gas is burned in the afternoon hours only.

One solution which suggests itself is one or more additional large diameter pipelines from the western areas which can store year-round production for winter supply. Additionally, incentives for electrical generators to maintain stockpile-able fuel generating capacity and stockpiled fuel are seen as a possibility.

Iso New England is an organization independent of the corporations that generate electricity, but which has responsibility for controlling production, transmission and pricing of electricity in the New England states and beyond. The draft of the paper, Addressing Gas Dependence, was released this past July.