Build

After two years of hearings and oral arguments, FERC yesterdayfinally gave Granite State Gas Transmission the go-ahead to buildits controversial liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the townof Wells, ME.

Enron Corp. is jumping into the California electric power marketwith a plan to develop a 500-MW gas-fired, merchant power plant inPittsburg, CA. Although the figures are not their analysis, EnronCapital and Trade Resources officials said the state needs some6,000 MW of new generating capacity by 2002.

Duke Energy, Iroquois Pipeline and Williams Cos. have teamed upto build a $240 million gas pipeline, called the LighthousePipeline, to extend under Long Island Sound to southernConnecticut. The pipeline would transport U.S. and Canadian naturalgas from Williams’ Transco pipeline, Duke’s Algonquin and TexasEastern pipelines and the Iroquois pipeline to new generationprojects in Southern Connecticut. It’s also expected to facilitatedevelopment of other power generation projects on Long Island.

Stone & Webster Development and PP&L Global Inc. haveformed a joint venture to build a 250-500 MW gas-fired, merchantpower plant in Wallingford, CT to compete in the New Englandelectricity market. The partners have a signed “exclusivityagreement” with the city government of Wallingford to develop theproject on the site of a small oil-fired power plant theWallingford Department of Public Utilities (DPU) is retiring.

Six energy companies agreed to form Tri-States NGL Pipeline tobuild a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline from Alabama andMississippi to Louisiana fractionators. The line will link threegas processing plants under construction to new and expandedfractionators on the Mississippi River.