Latest news with #Transco
Fast Company
3 days ago
- Health
- Fast Company
A gas company wants to expand a pipeline in the south—but it would sharply increase air pollution in North Carolina towns
Two compressor stations along Transco's natural gas pipeline in North Carolina would emit more than 935,000 tons of planet-warming greenhouse gases each year, state records show. The expansion would also contaminate nearby communities with harmful air pollutants up to 350% over current levels. Transco, a division of the Houston-based group Williams, plans to increase the horsepower at the existing compressor stations in Lexington, in Davidson County, and in Mooresville, in Iredell County. The stations would accommodate the company's Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP), a pipeline expansion that traverses five states: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Compressor stations use high pressure to force gas through a pipeline; they are located every 50 to 60 miles along a route. They routinely leak methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, and other pollutants through valves, flanges and other connectors. The gas is also sometimes intentionally released directly into the atmosphere, a practice called venting, and sometimes the gas is flared, or burned off, during maintenance, shutdowns and startups. Venting is worse for the climate, while flaring produces more harmful air pollution. Each compressor station would be powered by natural gas, according to Transco's recent air permit applications to the N.C. Division of Air Quality. Division officials are reviewing the applications and will accept public comment after the evaluations are complete. Meanwhile, environmental advocates are asking local government officials to oppose Transco's entire natural gas expansion. Transco did not respond to an email requesting comment on the air permit applications. With increased horsepower comes increased pollution. At the Lexington station, concentrations of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, sulfur dioxide and hazardous air pollutants, such as cancer-causing formaldehyde, would increase over current levels, by between 175% and 350%, state records show. Residents in Lexington and Mooresville 'are already burdened by decades of air pollution from existing Transco infrastructure and deserve to breathe clean air,' said Juhi Modi, North Carolina field coordinator at Appalachian Voices. 'NCDEQ has the power to defend against Transco's proposal to emit more health-compromising pollution into our communities.' EPA data show Davidson County is already afflicted by six types of air pollutants regulated under National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Davidson County is in compliance with the air quality standards, according to state officials, but they apply to large areas, like a county, and 'aren't necessarily going to be reflective of the reality on the ground for the people who live around these compressor stations,' said Deirdre Dlugoleski, a former associate attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, now with Defenders of Wildlife. 'Compliance with the NAAQS isn't enough to ensure that environmental justice communities close to these sites won't be harmed.' Neighborhoods within a mile radius of the Lexington compressor station rank among the highest in the state in terms of exposure to very fine particulate matter (known as PM 2.5), ozone, and toxic releases to the air, according to the EPA's EJ Screen. Nearly half of the 800 residents in the affected area are low-income. The potential risks to public safety and the environment prompted the Midway Town Council, by a 4-1 vote, to formally oppose SSEP and the compressor station in Lexington, about 10 miles south of Midway. Davidson County already has 176 miles of natural gas and liquid petroleum pipelines within its boundaries. Midway officials cited the 'negative impacts on air and water quality, residents' health and property values,' in their May 5 resolution, filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC. Town officials asked FERC to consider a 'no-build option' and, in the event the pipeline is expanded, to require the compressor stations to use the best available control technology to reduce emissions. At the Mooresville station, Transco's air permit application shows the increases would range from 20% to 37% over current emissions levels, depending on the pollutant. Like their Lexington counterparts, people living within a mile of the station are exposed to some of the highest levels of PM 2.5, ozone, toxic air releases and diesel pollution. These neighborhoods also flank Interstate 77, one of the main arteries into Charlotte. Both stations would emit toxic air pollutants acrolein, benzene, and formaldehyde at high rates. In Lexington, benzene exceeds federal hourly emission rates by 100 times; in Mooresville, the figure is 61 times. These rates trigger a requirement for the company to conduct air dispersion modeling to measure contaminant levels, if they move off site and how far. 'This proposed massive methane gas project would add more pollution and health risks to North Carolina communities already struggling with poor air quality, compared to the rest of the state,' said Caroline Hansley, campaign organizing strategist at Sierra Club. 'NCDEQ must exercise its authority to protect North Carolinians and deny the permit for this unneeded, dirty, and dangerous project.' More Demand From Data Centers In North Carolina, the SSEP includes the Eden Loop, 4.4 miles in Rockingham County, where the pipeline enters the state from Virginia. The Salem Loop, also part of SSEP, is longer, running roughly 24 miles through Guilford, Forsyth, and Davidson counties. The SSEP is one of three major pipeline projects in North Carolina. MVP Southgate is proposed for Rockingham County, where it would tie into the T-15, a pipeline which would run east to Duke Energy's new natural gas plants in Person County. All of these projects are estimated to begin operating within the next three to five years, although they often run behind schedule because of permitting issues, litigation or construction delays. There is still a vacancy on the FERC commission, which could also cause backlogs. Transco officials say the project is necessary to accommodate increased energy demand from data centers. Some energy analysts, like Tyler Norris of Duke University, though, counter that load flexibility could preclude the need for more generation and transmission. Environmental advocates argue that energy companies are financially incentivized to build pipelines. From 2018 to 2023, Transco's average return on equity—earnings—was 17%, according to the National Gas Supply Association. Earlier this spring, Transco updated its project filings with FERC, which reflected minor adjustments to the proposed route. Maps show hundreds of homes and businesses, schools, day cares, even parks and recreational centers within the pipeline's 1,114-foot 'high consequence area.' Also known as the blast zone, these areas are where the force of an explosion could kill or injure people, as well as damage or destroy property. The zone is based on the diameter of the pipeline—SSEP is 42 inches—and its maximum allowable pressure. Within these areas, there are different classifications of risk, depending on population density and the number of vulnerable people who couldn't quickly evacuate. Some homes lie as close as 20 feet from the center of the pipeline, according to Transco's filings with FERC. The pipeline skirts churches; the Oak Ridge Weekday School; a child care center in Guilford County; the VA Medical Center in Kernersville; and U.S. Highway 52, a major thoroughfare. It would burrow under three acres of Triad Park, a 6,000-acre recreational area that straddles Guilford and Forsyth counties. Farther south in Davidson County, Wallburg Elementary School enrolls more than 720 students in pre-K through Grade 5. It is less than a quarter mile from the pipeline and within the blast zone, as is the Wallburg Recreational Center across the street. In a recent presentation to Guilford County Commissioners, Transco officials emphasized that 'safety is the highest priority.' The company continuously monitors its pipelines and frequently inspects them, officials said, and uses pressure and temperature sensors to warn of potential problems. Previous studies of pipeline accidents in Kentucky, Virginia, and New Mexico have shown that blast zones extend farther than originally calculated, according to the Pipeline Safety Trust, a nonprofit based in Washington state. The trust raised safety concerns about the SSEP in its recent comments to FERC. The SSEP route already contains up to four other pipelines of different types, and FERC should calculate the blast to reflect those co-locations, wrote Erin Sutherland, the trust's policy and program director, and attorney. 'This is a serious environmental and public health danger that FERC should consider.' Even routine construction will affect communities along the route. 'There's a huge gap that is going to fall on local municipalities,' Hansley said. 'People's wells could be blasted and impacted in Oak Ridge and other places. The roads could see massive traffic increases from heavy loads, get damaged and then who would end up paying for it?'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How Trump and Williams reviving the Constitution Pipeline may result in another New York gas project proceeding instead
President Trump's fixation with reviving a long-dead natural gas pipeline to New York is now resulting in action—for not one but two New York gas pipeline projects. Trump's focus on the 124-mile Constitution Pipeline that was canceled in 2020 may instead result in pipeline developer Williams Cos. reviving its more practical Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project in New York instead, according to energy analysts. Williams filed a federal application May 29 to resuscitate its NESE project that expands its Transco natural gas pipeline network in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. NESE was previously axed by Williams a year ago after state-level water permit denials. As for Constitution, Williams said it has begun 'working through state permitting matters' for the pipeline project that would run from the Marcellus Shale gas fields in northeastern Pennsylvania to markets in New York and beyond. The most feasible result is Williams is using the political and regulatory push from the Trump administration for Constitution to instead help it build the NESE project in New York, said Zach Krause, team lead for equity research at East Daley Analytics. 'Constitution is impractical,' Krause said, arguing the pipeline would tie into another pipeline network, called Iroquois, which is operating at full capacity and would need to turn away much of its existing gas flows from Canada to accommodate Constitution. '[NESE] is a project that works much better,' Krause said. NESE involves building about 37 miles of pipeline expanding parts of the Transco network in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania to carry more gas to the New York and New Jersey markets. The new NESE application asks for expedited action by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by the end of August so construction could commence by the end of this year. Both the NESE and Constitution projects were killed amid regulatory and political pushback in New York, but now they're resurrected amid Trump's executive orders declaring a national energy emergency and a push for American energy dominations. Trump first brought up resuscitating Constitution back in February during an Oval Office briefing. The news even caught Williams CEO Alan Armstrong by surprise. Shortly thereafter, in an interview with this reporter for Hart Energy, Armstrong said, 'We were kind of like, 'Whoa, where'd that come from?'' He added, 'We'd love to see it get built, obviously.' In early May, during Williams' earning call, Armstrong placed a greater emphasis on the NESE project when asked about Constitution. 'NESE's a lot easier to pull the trigger on,' Armstrong said. 'Frankly, [it's] just a lot less complex and highly dependent on the state of New York and the governor there deciding that they need low-cost, low-emission energy into those markets. So, we'll see what happens on that.' Williams Executive Vice President Chad Zamarin, who will become CEO in July when Armstrong moves to the non-executive chairman role, added at the time, 'I don't think there's too much to mention yet on the Constitution. We're continuing to work on it.' In a May 29 statement, mentioning NESE first, Williams said, 'The NESE and Constitution projects are essential to address persistent natural gas supply constraints in the Northeast, constraints that have led to higher energy costs for consumers and increased reliance on higher-emission fuels like fuel oil.' Williams is progressing with the NESE project less than 10 days after the Trump administration removed its freeze on Equinor's Empire Wind project offshore of New York. With legal action pending after the Trump administration had placed a stop work order on Empire Wind, which was in the early stages of construction, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul intervened to help mediate the issue with the White House. When the Trump administration removed its objection to Empire Wind, Hochul said in a statement that she would 'work with the administration and private entities on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law.' While she denied any quid pro quo, the Trump administration alleged Hochul caved on the Williams pipeline projects. Trump's Interior secretary, Doug Burgum, who initially implemented the Empire Wind stoppage, said on social media, 'I am encouraged by Governor Hochul's comments about her willingness to move forward on critical pipeline capacity. Americans who live in New York and New England would see significant economic benefits and lower utility costs from increased access to reliable, affordable, clean American natural gas.' Hinds Howard, an energy analyst for CBRE Investment, said Williams would only move forward with NESE and Constitution if 'serious assurances [were] made' that the projects would see the finish line this time around. This story was originally featured on
Hans India
21-05-2025
- General
- Hans India
Water Board MD inspects sewer project
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Water Board, Managing Director, Ashok Reddy, inspected the ongoing Zone-3 Sewer Network Project works that have been undertaken for the modernisation of the sewage system. During the inspection, how to carry out the tunnelling works on the Tolichowki Flyover main road without any hindrance was discussed, and it was estimated that it would not be easy to carry out the works as there is heavy traffic on this main road every day. It was suggested that the works should be completed during the rainy season so that people should not face any problems due to the tunnelling works being carried out at a depth of about eight to 11 meters. The MD stated that while carrying out the tunnelling works, they should coordinate with the GHMC, Transco, Hyderabad Water Board, and O and M officials. They should wear proper barricades and protective equipment while undertaking the work and follow safety standards. He also advised the officials to immediately complete road repairs in the areas where the pipe expansion work has been completed. He emphasised that proposals should be submitted outlining how the underground tunnelling work on the road leading to the nearby Seven Tombs can be carried out without compromising the structural integrity of the surrounding residential houses. Later, the MD inspected the pipeline expansion work which is in progress in the lines and surrounding areas.
Hans India
02-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Industrial parks worth Rs 500 cr soon in ASR dist
Paderu (ASR District): Alluri Sitarama Raju district collector AS Dinesh Kumar organised a video conference with district industries officials, as well as agriculture, horticulture, and Transco department officials to discuss the establishment of these parks. Addressing the conference, the collector has directed officials to prepare proposals for the establishment of industrial parks worth Rs 500 crore in the district. He said that the Anakapalli district collector had identified 250 acres in Golugonda mandal for setting up an industrial park. He also announced the establishment of a flatted factory complex in Araku. This complex will provide facilities for processing coffee, pepper, turmeric, millets, and other tribal products under the Araku brand name. The Collector emphasised the promotion of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the region. He reviewed the progress of schemes such as PM Vishwakarma, MSME surveys, and the acceptance of PMEGP applications, as well as the subsidies being provided by the government. District Industries Officer G Ravi Shankar, Assistant Director Ramanarao, Agriculture Officer SBS Sand, District Horticulture Officer P Ramesh Kumar Rao, and other officials were present.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
4 Brilliant Midstream Stocks to Buy Now and Hold for the Long Term
With changing government administrations potentially becoming more favorable to the energy sector and with many of the stocks in that sector trading at a discount to historical valuations, midstream stocks are shaping up to be solid long-term investments right now. Let's look at four great midstream stocks you might want to consider buying now and holding over the long run. Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) owns one of the largest integrated midstream systems in the U.S., which also allows it to be one of the biggest energy arbitrageurs in the country. Most of its businesses are fee-based, but this gives the company additional opportunities to profit when seasonal, regional, or product spreads arise. The company is particularly well positioned in the Permian, the most prolific oil basin in the U.S. The Permian is also home to a lot of cheap associated natural gas, giving Energy Transfer a lot of opportunity around growing power needs for artificial intelligence (AI). The company is boosting its growth capital expenditures (capex) to take advantage of these opportunities. In addition to the growth in front of it, Energy Transfer sports a 7% forward yield. Its distribution is well covered and expected to grow by 3% to 5% a year moving forward, making it a great option for income-oriented investors. MPLX (NYSE: MPLX) is a midstream company that operates in two segments: logistics & storage (L&S) and gathering & processing (G&P). It handles approximately 10% of the natural gas produced in the U.S. and has strong positions in both Appalachia and the Permian. On the crude side, meanwhile, it primarily serves its parent and largest shareholder, refiner Marathon Petroleum. The company is upping its growth capex this year, given the opportunities it is seeing, taking it from $889 million last year to $1.7 billion in 2025. It is starting to see increasing demand, both from exports and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. It recently formed a strategic partnership with Oneok to bolster its competitiveness in the NGL (natural gas liquid) and natural gas value chains. This includes a new joint venture that will help its export capabilities. The stock current carries a 7.1% forward yield and low leverage of 3.1 times. It's grown its yearly distribution by 10% or more each of the three past years. Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB) owns arguably the most valuable pipeline system in the U.S. in Transco, which connects the natural gas-producing region of Appalachia to the Gulf Coast while traversing important Southern-state utility markets. The pipeline system is the gateway to numerous expansion projects to connect to the system. Transco is well situated to benefit from several energy market themes, including coal-to-gas switching, increasing LNG (liquified natural gas) demand, and robust power demand coming from AI infrastructure. Expansion projects related to Transco connections tend to have very strong returns. Meanwhile, Williams currently has seven Transco expansion projects set to come online between 2025 and 2029. With a 3.4% yield, Williams doesn't have as high of a yield as some other midstream companies, but it had a robust dividend coverage ratio of 2.3x, and it grew its dividend by 6% last year. Meanwhile, it has solid growth ahead. It is looking to grow its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) by 8% in 2025 and has a goal to grow it at a 5% to 7% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) moving forward. One of the companies best situated to take advantage of increasing LNG export demand is Cheniere Energy (NYSE: LNG). The company owns a nearly 50% stake and the incentive distribution rights (IDRs) in Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE: CQP), which owns the country's largest LNG export facility in the Sabine Pass in Louisiana. It also directly owns the Corpus Christi LNG terminal in Texas. LNG facilities liquify natural gas so it can be exported overseas, where it is then regasified. IDRs, meanwhile, give Cheniere a share of Cheniere Energy Partners' distributions. Most midstream companies have eliminated their IDRs, given the advantages it gives the general partner, which in this case is Cheniere Energy. Demand for LNG continues to grow as a cleaner and cheaper energy source. Export growth is largely driven by Asia, where natural gas prices are much higher than in the U.S. Shell recently forecast that it expects LNG demand to rise by 60% by 2040. The company is in the process of expanding its facilities, starting with its Corpus Christi terminal. It will add three trains (liquidization units) to the facility this year, increasing total Cheniere production capacity by 20%. Meanwhile, it is looking for final investment decisions to continue to expand Corpus Christi in 2025 and for the expansion of the Sabine Pass next year. Cheniere is not going to provide much of a dividend, but it is one of the best ways to play increasing LNG export growth over the next 10 to 15 years. Before you buy stock in Energy Transfer, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Energy Transfer wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $675,119!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 817% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 163% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 1, 2025 Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Energy Transfer. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Cheniere Energy. The Motley Fool recommends Oneok. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 4 Brilliant Midstream Stocks to Buy Now and Hold for the Long Term was originally published by The Motley Fool
