Kern River Pipeline’s $29 million, 32-mile, 24-inch-diameter High Desert Pipeline lateral officially was completed Tuesday almost a year before its major customer, an 810 MW electric generating plant, is due to come on line (July 2003). In the meantime, Kern River is accepting nominations for capacity on the 282 MMcf/d pipeline.

Some initial gas supplies may be used for testing turbines in the spring next year, according to Andy Welch, a project manager for the joint venture power plant developer, a partnership between affiliates of Baltimore, MD-based Constellation Energy, and a Newport Beach, CA-based developer/engineering firm. Welch said he expects the plant to be generating power between May and July next year from a site on part of a former Air Force base about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles near the high desert town of Victorville, CA.

In the meantime, Kern is looking for other customers. The pipeline’s maximum capacity could serve two plants the size of the High Desert plant now under construction. At one time there were plans for a second plant, but those plans are now on hold.

“People can nominate and transport on (the lateral) now if they choose,” said a Kern spokesperson. “It runs near the city of Victorville, so other customers could use the capacity (it is not limited to the power plant under construction). There is a notice on our marketing web site, noting that we have capacity available.”

The High Desert pipeline lateral is Kern River’s third major expansion project into California over the past 14 months. It placed what it called a “California Action Project” in service July 1 last year, and May 1 this year, the company completed a second expansion, increasing the Rocky Mountain pipeline’s total capacity by nearly 150 MMcf/d to 845.5 MMcf/d. Last month Kern started construction of an even more massive expansion to add another 906 MMcf/d capacity in a $1.2 billion expansion that is scheduled to go into service next May.

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