U.S. pipeline operator Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) has reportedly filed for its “North Extension” project, which will increase natural gas transportation capacity to supply Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WEPCO). The route runs from Illinois (Livingston, Will, and Lake counties) into southern Wisconsin.
The project is a pipeline expansion to supply feedstock gas for power generation, reportedly backed by a long-term firm transportation precedent agreement with WEPCO. It involves building a new compressor station (CS119) and expanding two existing compressor stations (CS312 and CS113), with Solar Turbines reportedly supplying Solar Titan 250 (31,900 hp) and Solar Taurus 70 (11,107 hp) compressor turbines.
The expansion will add 185,000 Dth/d (dekatherms per day) of transportation capacity, with a new 11.5-mile (about 18.5 km) lateral pipeline. The project reportedly involves three compressor stations in total — one newly built and two existing stations to be expanded.
The project is reportedly aimed at expanding pipeline transportation capacity to meet rising gas-fired power generation demand from utilities in the U.S. Midwest.
As utilities’ demand for gas-fired power generation grows, related pipeline expansion and compressor equipment orders are seen as increasing in tandem.
Attention is on when this filing will receive regulatory approval and move to actual construction, and how it connects with WEPCO’s broader gas-fired generation expansion plans.