FERC issues Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for Adelphia Gateway project

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued on Dec. 19 a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the Adelphia Gateway project, which will provide natural gas to customers in the Greater Philadelphia area.

“We are pleased FERC approved the Adelphia Gateway project and issued a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity,” Steve Westhoven, president and CEO of New Jersey Resources, the parent company of Adelphia Gateway, said. “This is a critical next step in our efforts to provide clean, low-cost natural gas to customers in the Greater Philadelphia region.”

The project will involve the conversion of 50 miles of an existing 84-mile pipeline from oil to natural gas. The northern 34 miles of the pipeline were previously converted to natural gas in 1996.

Following the finalization of the purchase of Interstate Energy Company and the existing pipeline from Talen Generation, LLC, the northern section will continue serving two natural gas-fired generation facilities in Lower Mount Bethel Township.

Once all of the necessary regulatory approvals are received, work to convert the lower 50 miles of the pipeline from oil to natural gas will begin, Adelphia Gateway said. The company currently anticipates that the project will be placed into service in 2020.

The pipeline will supply natural gas to Kimberly-Clark’s mill in Chester, Penn., which will enable the company to replace its existing on-site coal-fired co-generation power plant with a natural gas-fired generation power plant. Kimberly-Clark expects the switch to reduce the facility’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent.