It’s planned to meet growing demand for natural gas
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
We Energies has filed an application with the state Public Service Commission for permission to construct a 49-mile natural gas pipeline spanning Walworth and Western Racine Counties.
The application, filed May 18, seeks permission to install a 2-foot diameter steel pipe along one of two proposed routes – which, depending on the route, will affect properties in the city and town of Burlington, the Village of Rochester and the towns of Lyons, Brighton and Dover among others.
The estimated cost is $175 million to $183 million, depending on the route, according to utility spokeswoman Amy Jahns. Those costs will be paid by customers of the utility, she said, but will result more reliable service for a growing area.
In the application letter, We Energies’ Mary Wolter, director of gas regulatory planning and policy, said the project is needed to meet peak demand and projected growth in the area – which includes the massive Foxconn development in Mount Pleasant.
Foxconn acceleration
Foxconn, a Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer, recently began site preparation for its 22 million-square-foot facility. The factory is anticipated to spur additional development in the area that has been dubbed Wisconn Valley.
Jahns said the fast-tracked Foxconn project and the development it’s expected to spur create a greater urgency for We Energies’ pipeline proposal.
“The primary purpose of this project is to increase the quantity and reliability of natural gas service, both on a peak day and annually, in southeastern Wisconsin given projected load growth, planned distribution facility modifications, and pipeline capacity alternatives serving southern Wisconsin,” the application letter states.
Jahns said the project had been in the planning stages before the Foxconn announcement, but was accelerated in recent months to take advantage of an opportunity to dovetail the utility work with road projects being undertaken by the state Department of Transportation in the vicinity of the Foxconn development.
By doing so, she said, the utility can save money and minimize disruption of roads and highways.
If the application for the project is approved, work is slated to begin in spring of 2020 and be completed in summer of 2021, according to Jahns. She said the utility is hopeful the project will receive approval from the PSC by fall of 2019.
Proposed routes
As proposed, the pipeline stretches from the existing Bluff Creek Gate Station on the eastern edge of the Town of Whitewater to the proposed Lakeshore Capacity Improvement Project Regulator Station just west of Interstate 94 on the Yorkville-Paris town line, according to documents submitted with the application.
The proposed southern route (Route A) extends through the towns of Whitewater, LaGrange, Sugar Creek, Lafayette, Spring Prairie and Lyons, and the City of Elkhorn in Walworth County; the City of Burlington and towns of Burlington, Dover and Yorkville in Racine County; and the towns of Brighton and Paris in Kenosha County.
The proposed northern route (Route B) traverses properties in the towns of Whitewater, LaGrange, Troy, East Troy and Spring Prairie, and the Village of East Troy in Walworth County; the Village of Rochester and towns of Burlington, Dover and Yorkville in Racine County; and the Town of Paris in Kenosha County.
To read the full story, see the May 24 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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