Federal regulators approved a new natural gas pipeline Wednesday that will feed a planned natural gas-fired power plant in eastern Tennessee.
In a 45-page order, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave a green light to the Ridgeline expansion project, a 30-inch-diameter pipeline proposed by Enbridge as an add-on to its East Tennessee Natural Gas system. The $1.1 billion project comprises around 122 miles of pipe and a new compressor station, among other components.
“We find on balance that the record before us supports a determination that the benefits of the proposed Ridgeline Expansion Project outweigh its adverse effects,” the order said.
The pipeline is critical to plans by the Tennessee Valley Authority — the country’s largest public utility — to build a 1,500-megawatt natural gas combined cycle power plant near Kingston, roughly 40 miles west of Knoxville. TVA has entered into an agreement with East Tennessee “for 100% of the project’s capacity,” FERC said in its order Wednesday.
