The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has given approval to move forward with the Leidy South Project that will create 582,400 Dth/d of additional pipeline capacity and provide large amounts of natural gas to Pennsylvania areas. It will also further enable power plants to convert from coal to cleaner-burning natural gas. The project will connect natural gas produced by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Seneca Resources Company, LLC in the Marcellus and Utica regions of Pennsylvania with demand markets along the Atlantic Seaboard by the 2021-2022 winter heating season. UGI Utilities Inc. is a local distribution company that will be using its capacity to directly serve its customers in northeast Pennsylvania. Williams, a natural gas infrastructure company, is heading the project.
Williams states there remain more than 80 coal plants in the states Transco serves that can potentially be displaced by clean, efficient and affordable natural gas.By maximizing the use of the existing Transco transmission corridor and expanding existing facilities in Pennsylvania, the Leidy South Project will substantially reduce the amount of new infrastructure and land use required to meet these needs – minimizing community and environmental impact and allowing residential, commercial and power generation customers to efficiently access natural gas supplies on the Transco system.
Natural gas is a flexible, lower-emission fuel compared to other hydrocarbons such as coal or heating oil. And, because the US has an abundant supply of natural gas, using this local, cleaner resource has significantly reduced US emissions.
