November 2014, Vol. 69, No. 11
Newsline
Spectra Energy, Northeast Utilities Announce New England Energy Reliability Solution
Spectra Energy Corp., Spectra Energy Partners and Northeast Utilities (NU) recently announced details of the Access Northeast project, designed to reliably meet growing demand for natural gas in New England while providing environmental and economic benefits to the region.
Access Northeast is a $3 billion partnership between Spectra Energy and NU that could add as much as 1 billion cubic feet per day of capacity to two Spectra pipelines shipping natural gas to New England homes and power plants.
With an anticipated in-service date of November 2018, the gas pipeline expansion project will enhance the Algonquin and Maritimes pipeline systems, using existing routes to minimize effects on communities, landowners and the environment. The two companies will work with electric and gas industry representatives, including ISO-NE and NESCOE, to establish the levels of firm natural gas supply required, ensuring both generation reliability and LDC demand growth.
Tom May, NU chairman, president and chief executive officer, said the project will address a critical energy supply challenge in New England. Over the past 15 years, natural gas-fired generation has grown from serving 15 percent of New England’s annual electric requirements to serving approximately half. At the same time, tens of thousands of New England homes and businesses have converted to natural gas heating, while pipeline capacity into the region has not grown. The addition of this project into the region will enable new, efficient gas generation, which emits up to 50 percent less carbon than older oil and coal plants, to operate much more frequently during cold winter weather.
Spectra plans to lay additional pipe in existing right-of-way along the Algonquin and Maritimes pipelines. Project leaders expect to begin seeking regulatory approval by early 2015.
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