Enbridge Energy Partners LP plans to construct a 150 MMcf/d cryogenic gas processing plant near Beckville in Panola County, TX, that would expand the partnership’s processing capacity to 820 MMcf/d in the Cotton Valley and Haynesville Shale regions. The plant, expected to cost $140 million, is to be located in the heart of the rich gas Cotton Valley, would interconnect with existing natural gas liquids infrastructure. Construction is to begin late this year with start-up in early 2015.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded $3.9 million in five research grants, including for two natural gas projects. The University of California, Davis was awarded $900,000 to investigate emissions and leaks within the state’s natural gas infrastructure. Measurements are to be taken for all possible sources, including production, processing, transmission and distribution of gas in buildings, neighborhoods and regional settings to identify areas for mitigating greenhouse gas emission sources. Nearly $400,000 was awarded to Carlsbad, CA-based Anaergia Services to demonstrate a process to convert “green” waste into renewable natural gas by converting “biochar,” a soil supplement that can be used for agriculture.

The California Energy Commission‘s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program has issued two grants totaling $578,000 to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and Walnut Valley Unified School District (Walnut) for compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations. LAUSD will receive $300,000 to install 30 single CNG fueling units to replace older diesel-fired buses with CNG models. Walnut will use a $278,000 grant to update and expand its existing CNG fueling station to fuel 16 buses simultaneously; the district expects to purchase 11 additional CNG buses during the next two years.

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