The natural gas pipeline developer The Williams Companies plans another pipeline expansion in Virginia, this time to run from Pittsylvania County to parts north.
The Transco Power Express would supply markets north of the Transco compressor station in Chatham with up to 950 million cubic feet of gas daily, serving “the power-hungry Virginia market,” Williams’ President and CEO Alan Armstrong said last week on a quarterly earnings call.
Power Express would use existing rights of way and infrastructure “to dramatically reduce permitting risk and provide scalability” and is backed by a “significant commitment” from a customer, Armstrong said. The company anticipates it will be operational by the third quarter of 2030.
Armstrong’s description of Virginia as “power-hungry” comes as the commonwealth is seeing a rapidly rising demand for electricity, largely driven by the growth of data centers. Natural gas is the state’s top source of fuel for electricity generation, accounting for more than half of the electricity produced in Virginia.
The existing Transco pipeline in Virginia runs northeast from Pittsylvania County, through Central Virginia counties including Appomattox and Buckingham, and into Northern Virginia. It’s part of a system carrying natural gas more than 10,000 miles from the Gulf Coast into New York.
Williams said in an email to Cardinal News that it could not provide a specific timeline or map of the Power Express project.
“The project is currently in its early development stage,” the company said.
Williams has not submitted an application to the Virginia State Corporation Commission, which regulates gas pipelines when they are entirely within the borders of the commonwealth.
It also has not submitted an application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates the construction of pipelines when they cross state borders.
A Pittsylvania County spokesperson said the county has not received any correspondence from Williams about Power Express.
Power Express’ daily capacity of 950 million cubic feet would be just under half of the mainline Mountain Valley Pipeline, which carries up to 2 billion cubic feet daily from West Virginia through Southwest Virginia and to the Chatham compressor station.
Transco plans another project, Southeast Supply Enhancement, which would expand its existing pipeline corridor running south from Chatham into North Carolina to transport an additional 1.6 billion cubic feet of gas daily. It was submitted to FERC last year for regulatory review.
Separately, a proposed Southgate extension to the Mountain Valley Pipeline would carry 550 million cubic feet of gas daily from Pittsylvania County into North Carolina. In 2020, FERC signed off on a necessary certificate of approval, but earlier this year, the developer asked to amend the certificate after shortening Southgate’s proposed route.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline, Southgate and the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project have met opposition from environmental groups and others concerned about the pipelines’ impacts on nearby areas and the increased use of natural gas.
The nonprofit Appalachian Voices is “deeply concerned” about Pittsylvania County facing “yet another massive fossil fuel project,” along with Southgate and Southeast Supply Enhancement, said Jessica Sims, the organization’s Virginia field coordinator.
“We are eager to learn more about the proposed ‘Power Express’ mentioned in the Williams Companies’ earnings call and to understand the project’s potential impacts to local water, air, property values and community health,” Sims said in an email.