Atlanta Gas Expands LNG Storage Pipeline Alternatives to Mitigate Spike

Atlanta Gas Light Co. (AGLC), one of the South’s largest natural gas distributors, is expanding its liquefied natural gas (LNG) peak reduction facility in suburban Atlanta as part of a response to long term to growing energy demand.

Subsidiary Southern Co. has started work on a $250 million expansion of its Cherokee LNG facility in Ball Ground, Ga., to add a second storage tank. The project could double its storage capacity to hold 4.1 billion cubic feet. Completion is expected in three years.

AGLC said LNG expansion is a more reliable approach to increasing capacity than relying solely on pipeline projects due to increasing costs and regulatory hurdles. He cited examples such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Mountain Valley Pipeline and PennEast Pipeline projects, which AGLC said illustrate the long wait and potentially high costs companies can face when trying to expand the interstate pipeline infrastructure.

Management told regulators, in its long-term plans to increase capacity, that if “additional pipeline capacity was its only option, AGL would face stifled customer growth, a shrinking customer base and lost opportunities for economic growth.

Cherokee LNG’s expansion was highlighted in AGLC’s long-term plan to grow integrated capacity. The Georgia Civil Service Commission approved it in November. AGLC still includes some incremental plans for interstate pipeline development in its 10-year outlook. It also considers the impacts of greater dependence on LNG.

AGLC CEO Pedro Cherry said increased LNG storage is a “valuable asset” needed to increase the Atlanta-based distributor’s ability to respond to high peak situations as energy demand continues to increase.

A Southern Company spokesperson said demand for NGI gas from AGLC customers is expected to increase by an average of 1.4% per year over the next few years. “Atlanta Gas Light’s analysis shows that the need for additional supply is over a small number of days and not over a long period of time,” the spokesperson said. “Therefore, a peak resource is better suited to the needs of the system. »

After completion of the additional storage tank, AGLC indicated in its development plan that it would likely focus on replacing its liquefaction train at Cherokee LNG. To accommodate the facility’s doubled storage capacity, the company is considering designs that could also double its liquefaction capacity to approximately 20 million cubic feet/d.

With the expansion of LNG capacity, AGLC anticipates that up to 35% of firm load requirements forecast at design day could come from LNG supplies over the next five years. In its 10-year forecast, this share increases to 41%.

AGLC distributes natural gas to approximately 1.7 million customers in Georgia and is one of four wholesalers owned by Southern Company.

The Cherokee LNG facility, built in 1988, is the newest of AGLC’s three plants in Georgia. The other two are in Riverdale and Macon. A spokesperson told NGI the company would also work on smaller projects at its other LNG facilities to improve reliability.

The Cherokee LNG facility, built in 1988, is the newest of AGLC’s three plants in Georgia. The other two are in Riverdale and Macon. A spokesperson told NGI the company would also work on smaller projects at its other LNG facilities to improve reliability.