The 116-mile PennEast Pipeline would have transported 1.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. (Source: PennEast Pipeline Co. LLC)
PennEast Pipeline said on Sept. 27 it would cease development of the natural gas pipeline it proposed to build from Pennsylvania to New Jersey because the project had not yet received all the required permits.
Although PennEast received federal approval to build the pipe in 2018, the company said it has still not received some permits, including the water quality certification from New Jersey.
“The PennEast partners, following extensive evaluation and discussion, recently determined further development of the project no longer is supported,” PennEast said in an email, noting it “has ceased all further development of the project.”
PennEast is one of several gas pipeline projects in the U.S. Northeast held up by state regulators over the past several years. Others include Williams Cos. Inc’s Northeast Supply Enhancement from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and New York, and Constitution from Pennsylvania to New York.
Energy analysts have warned that gas could soon become trapped in the Appalachian shale region unless energy companies build more big pipes.
As recently as August, PennEast said it still hoped to finish the first phase of the $1.2 billion pipe in Pennsylvania in 2022.
The PennEast partners decided to stop development even though the project won a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in June that overturned a lower court decision blocking PennEast from using federal eminent domain rules to seize New Jersey state-owned or controlled land.
“For the last four years, my administration has fought back against the unnecessary construction of the PennEast Pipeline, which was wrong for New Jersey and would have destroyed acres of New Jersey’s conserved land and threatened species,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said. “I welcome today’s decision by PennEast to cease development on this project and am committed to protecting our state’s natural resources and building a clean energy future that works for all New Jerseyans.”
PennEast had hoped to complete the project in 2019 after gaining federal approval from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in January 2018.
The 120-mile pipe was designed to deliver 1.1 billion cubic feet per day of gas from the Marcellus shale to customers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
PennEast partners include units of New Jersey Resources , South Jersey Industries, Southern Co., Enbridge Inc. and UGI Corp.
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