NGI The Weekly Gas Market Report
NGI Archives | NGI All News Access
FGT Expansion Gets Draft Environmental OK
Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) last week extended its lead over other pipes that are flocking to Florida to cash in on the gas-fired power generation market when FERC staff issued draft environmental approval for its Phase IV mainline expansion.
FGT’s proposed expansion would have “limited adverse environmental impacts,” provided certain mitigation measures are adopted, according to staff’s draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The pipeline received the favorable ruling because about 84% of the proposed expansion will be located within or adjacent to existing rights-of-way and will overlap FGT’s existing system wherever possible.
Staff said there were no practical system alternatives to the FGT expansion, given that it is the only pipeline now serving Florida and no other projects are currently being reviewed by the Commission. However, it found two superior route alternatives – one on the West Leg Extension that would avoid the city of Arcadia in DeSoto Country, FL, and a second on the Tampa South Lateral Extension that would bypass a residential area.
The DEIS, combined with the preliminary determination that the expansion received in July, gives FGT a significant lead over three competing projects — Duke Energy’s Sawgrass Energy Transmission System, Williams-Transco’s Buccaneer Pipeline and Coastal’s Gulfstream project – that also are vying for a potential 1.5 Bcf/d growth in gas demand for power generation in the Sunshine State. Buccaneer, the only one of the three to formally file, submitted its proposal earlier this month. (See NGI, Oct. 4)
The FGT project calls for the construction of about 140 miles of pipeline (laterals and looping) facilities and associated compression in Mississippi and Florida, and would expand the pipeline’s volumes by 196,405 MMBtu/d (net). That’s equal to about 71.7 BBtu a year. It will provide major supplies of natural gas to the southwestern Florida market for the first time.
The start-up of the $262 million Phase IV expansion, which has a proposed in-service date of May 2001, is being scheduled to coincide with the operation of Florida Power and Light’s (FP&L) repowered gas-fired generation facility in Ft. Meyers, FL. When completed, the repowered facility will have triple the generating capacity (1,500 MWs) of its two existing oil-fired steam generators. The Ft. Meyers’ project is part of a larger FP&L effort to add a total of 2,500 MWs of gas-fired capacity to its existing generation facilities.
Susan Parker
©Copyright 1999 Intelligence Press, Inc. All rights reserved.The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed in wholeor in part without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.
© 2024 Natural Gas Intelligence. All rights reserved.
ISSN © 2577-9877 | ISSN © 1532-1266 |