FERC announced Friday its staff will prepare an environmental impact statement for the Access Northeast pipeline project that would move natural gas from New Jersey to Massachusetts (PF16-1).
The commission said the EIS will determine the potential impacts of Algonquin Gas Transmission’s project to determine if it is in the public interest.
The 925-dekatherm/day project includes pipelines and storage facilities along the route of an existing pipeline. Its developers say the project will be able to serve 5,000 MW of gas-fired power generation in New England.
Project sponsors Spectra Energy, Eversource Energy and National Grid say the pipeline will help alleviate supply constraints in New England as the region becomes more reliant on natural gas. (See Algonquin Submits Pre-Filing Request for Access Northeast Pipeline.) They expect to file a formal application later this year and hope to put the first phase of the project in service by November 2018.
The commission said comments should be filed by May 30. A series of public scoping meetings will be held at various locations in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts from May 16-19.
The project would replace 45 miles of existing 26-inch-wide pipeline with 42-inch pipe; expand six existing compressor stations; and build new pipeline loops and laterals or expand the capacity of existing ones. The project also includes an 84.6 million-gallon LNG storage facility in Massachusetts.
– William Opalka