Developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline are considering a plan to increase the amount of natural gas the existing pipeline can carry by further compressing its gas, an idea that could include building a compressor station near the border of Montgomery and Roanoke counties.
A proposal has not yet been filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates interstate pipeline construction projects. Depending on specifics, the plan could also require approvals from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and local governments.
Nonetheless, the idea to expand Mountain Valley Pipeline’s gas capacity by about 25%, dubbed “MVP Boost,” was discussed this week in a presentation to shareholders of Pittsburgh-based EQT Corp. (NYSE:EQT), which owns the largest stake in the pipeline joint venture.
“This project will provide additional takeaway from Appalachia into Virginia to serve the Southeast markets, unleashing reliable, low cost, low emissions natural gas into a region that is seeing significant demand growth,” Toby Rice, CEO of EQT Corp., said on a call with investors Wednesday.
Company says increased capacity would meet demand
Today, the 303-mile, 42-inch-diameter Mountain Valley Pipeline carries up to 2 billion cubic feet of gas daily from West Virginia through six Virginia counties to a compressor station in Pittsylvania County.
It began operating in June 2024 after years of legal and permitting challenges from individuals and groups who objected to its impact on the environment and its use of eminent domain to acquire private property, among other concerns.
MVP Boost would add another 500 million cubic feet to the pipeline’s daily capacity.
Rice said that because of MVP Boost’s “strong project momentum,” the company has begun ordering parts that have long lead times.
Pending regulatory approval, EQT anticipates MVP Boost will begin operation in 2029.
The company said in a presentation to investors that the extra natural gas capacity would serve electric utility demand in the Southeast and data centers in Northern Virginia.
Data centers are essentially large buildings full of computers that power a variety of online services. They consume large amounts of power, and a report late last year forecast that Virginia’s electricity demand could triple by 2040 if data center growth pushes forward unconstrained.
Details on potential compressor station remain scarce
As natural gas moves through a pipeline, it loses pressure due to friction and changes in elevation. Compressor stations are buildings along a natural gas pipeline’s route that typically use gas-fired turbines to increase the pressure to continue pushing the gas through the pipe.
EQT’s presentation included a map showing a new compressor station slated for somewhere around the border of Montgomery and Roanoke counties.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline company recently kicked off an “open season,” which is a period in which it seeks potential customers for the additional natural gas capacity to gauge interest in the project.
A document describing the open season said the new compressor station would be in Montgomery County. The document was accessible to the public via EQT’s website until Thursday afternoon, when the document’s website address began returning an error message.
The MVP Boost concept also calls for increasing compression at three existing stations in West Virginia for a total of 180,000 additional horsepower of compression, Rice said.
A more specific location for the potential Virginia compressor station was not available Thursday.
Mountain Valley Pipeline spokesperson Shawn Day said in a statement that the open season “reflects the joint venture’s due diligence in assessing public demand for natural gas and the potential to add capacity to MVP via the enhancement of existing compressor stations in West Virginia and addition of one greenfield compressor station in Virginia.”
“Additional information will be available after Mountain Valley completes a comprehensive review of the open season,” Day said.
Mountain Valley Pipeline developers previously considered a compressor station in Montgomery County, but it was never built. Nearby neighbors expressed concerns, including about potential noise and pollution, according to a 2015 report in The Roanoke Times.
Meanwhile, a separate project, MVP Southgate, is proposed to carry 550 million cubic feet of gas daily from Pittsylvania County into North Carolina to serve Duke Energy and Enbridge Gas.
Rice said Wednesday that the company expects to receive an environmental assessment from FERC in October and that Southgate is anticipated to begin operating in 2028.
Environmental groups are urging FERC to restart Southgate’s regulatory review. Among other things, they contend that its revised route makes it a different project. The company originally proposed Southgate as a 75-mile pipeline extension into two North Carolina counties, but later shortened it to 31 miles running into one county.
Also currently underway are two proposed expansions of the Williams Companies’ existing Transco pipeline system. The Southeast Supply Enhancement Project would carry up to 1.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily to North Carolina, while Power Express would carry up to 950 million cubic feet daily to serve Northern Virginia. Both would require regulatory approval.