(The Center Square) – Even as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is expected to respond this week to TC Energy’s request to upgrade its natural gas delivery system in a project called the Gas Transmission Northwest XPress Project, the project is facing headwinds from Oregon senators.
TC Energy, under Gas Transmission Northwest, filed an application before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on October 4, 2021.
But the request is finding opponents in Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden who sent a letter on Tuesday to the Chairman and Commissioners of FERC urging them to reject TC Energy’s request for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), a clearance requirement for the project to begin.
“The Gas Transmission Northwest XPress Project (GTNXP) is designed to upgrade our system to meet increased demands from our customers in the region, providing the reliable energy to communities throughout the Western U.S. in a safe, responsible, and reliable manner,” a description by TC Energy states.
Gas Transmission Northwest is an interstate natural gas pipeline owned and operated by TC Energy. The project includes upgrades, horsepower replacements, and additional gas cooling at stations in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
The pipeline transports natural gas, a clean burning fuel that has contributed to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and continues to be essential to long-term energy needs.
“There is no clear justification for, or benefit from, GTN Xpress. TC Energy has entered into a precedent agreement with Tourmaline, a Canadian fossil gas producer that is not seeking to serve ratepayers,” wrote the Senators.
“When one looks behind the precedent agreements it is clear that TC Energy has failed to demonstrate that there is adequate need for the … fossil gas that GTN Xpress would carry, let alone that project benefits outweigh adverse impacts on economic interests,” they said.
TC Energy, however, explains there is a need for the project to ensure communities in the Western U.S. continue to have reliable energy in a responsible manner, supplementing renewable energy as required.
“The Gas Transmission Northwest XPress Project (GTNXP) will upgrade three existing compressor stations on the Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) system – transporting natural gas since 1962 – to meet increasing demand from residential, commercial and industrial customers in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States while also providing supply reliability to the Pacific Northwest and West Coast regions,” their site states.
Gas Transmission Northwest’s pipeline runs 1,377 miles from Western Canada to power generating facilities in the Pacific Northwest and California.
The Senators contend there is no need for this pipeline project.
“GTN Xpress is a significant fossil fuel expansion at a time when Oregon and Washington are moving away from fossil fuels. GTN Xpress is simply incompatible with the laws of the states of Oregon and Washington. At the same time, TC Energy has failed to show that there is adequate need for the GTN Xpress. We urge you to find that GTN Xpress is not in the public interest, and to deny the application,” the Senators’ letter concludes.
