Subject to regulatory approvals, TGP intends to start certain construction activities in Jan 2017 and expects to commission project facilities on Nov 1, 2018.
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Opposition has been widespread along the route in nearby Columbia County, Berkshire County and points east. In Windsor, where a 41,000 horsepower industrial compressor station would help propel the high-pressure natural gas through the pipeline, residents and town officials have been especially vocal in their concerns about the project.
In a statement regarding the recent FERC filing and proposed NEXUS project, the company said the pipeline “will play a key role” as energy companies move away from coal as a fuel source. The 400-plus mile pipeline would run through Pennsylvania, New York, MA and New Hampshire.
Gaier said although NRG is a potential customer of NEXUS, the plan to convert the power plant to natural gas is not dependent on the NEXUS pipeline.
The company plans to build the pipeline called Northeast Energy Direct Project (NED) to carry natural gas from the Marcellus region of Pennsylvania to markets in the Northeast.
Not everyone agrees that committing to hundreds of miles of new gas pipelines is the best answer for the region.
Watson said: “In order to meet demand during the past two winters, New England’s electric generators have had to rely on high-priced natural gas, expensive imported LNG and costly fuel oil purchased on the spot market”.
If approved, the 30-inch diameter pipeline would enter MA from Stephentown, passing through sections of Hancock, Cheshire, Lanesborough, Dalton, Hinsdale, Peru and Windsor before exiting to Franklin and Hampshire counties and southern New Hampshire before re-entering the state north of Lowell.
One grassroots group with members in Lorain and Medina counties – the Coalition to Reroute NEXUS, or CORN – has sought to have the pipeline routed to a more southern and less-densely populated region of the state.
Under a policy clarified in 2000, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as its first step in evaluating new pipelines, determines if the project can proceed without subsidies from the applicant’s own customers. They’ve also signed agreements with four of those seven local distribution companies to provide them with natural gas from the supply path component, along with two natural gas producers, one municipal light department and a power generator, according to the news release.
Last week, Spectra Energy Corp. announced a new Access Northeast pipeline project that would also serve Northeast gas markets (EnergyWire, November 19).
“The NED Project is a transformative project for the northeast United States”, Watson said.
Kinder Morgan spokesperson Allen Fore says his company will certainly push for as many local workers as possible.
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This article was written by Meghan Foley from The Keene Sentinel, N.H. and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
