Sabal Trail seeks two-year extension on construction deadline for compressors

Washington — Sabal Trail Transmission has asked the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for more time to complete two compressor units associated with the 1,075,000 Dt/d, 500-mile natural gas pipeline project.

Since coming online in July 2017, the 500-mile project, stretching from Tallapoosa Interconnection in Alabama to the Central Florida Hub, has expanded the previously limited gas supply sources for Florida.

In asking FERC for a two-year extension of its certificate authorization April 7, however, the developer cited delays in reaching full commercialization for the final 76,000 Dt/d as well as economic impacts associated with COVID-19 (CP15-17).

Reflecting demand in the Southeast US, flows on Sabal Trail follow a distinct seasonal trend as deliveries peak during the hottest months and subside during lower-demand winter months. Utilization along the project has increased over the span of its roughly four years in service, as gas delivered into the pipeline from Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line near its Station 85 pooling point have risen from a peak of around 500 MMcf/d in 2018 to a high of nearly 1 Bcf/d in 2020, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics.

Downstream, the pipeline has seen its mix of downstream deliveries shift over time, with the majority of gas being delivered to the Florida Southeast Connection project, while deliveries to Duke Energy's Citrus County power station have been fairly steady since the plant was placed into service in 2018, Platts Analytics data showed.

An extension from FERC would give Sabal Trail time to install two remaining compressor units, totaling 41,000 hp, at the existing Albany compressor station in Dougherty County, Georgia, and Hildreth station in Suwannee County, Florida.

Contentious gas projects at times draw ample pushback at FERC when they seek certificate extensions, as most recently witnessed in the case of Transco's Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (CP17-101) and Cheniere's Energy's Midship Pipeline (CP17-458). But FERC has mostly granted such requests.

Sabal Trail told FERC that unlike cases in which FERC has denied extensions in the past, "Sabal Trail has taken steps to develop its project, having already constructed and placed into service all of the project facilities except for two compressor units." Over 93% of the capacity has been placed in service, it noted.

"While demand for natural gas in the southeastern United States, including Florida, continues to grow, Sabal Trail has been delayed in reaching full commercialization for the remaining 76,000 Dt/d of capacity in the project, and the incalculable impacts on global energy and other economic markets resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic likely have caused further delays," the company told FERC, in an April 7 filing.

The request from Sabal Trail comes as FERC's online docket is currently flooded with hundreds of comments from individuals opposing Transco's March 19 request to extend the certificate for the 400,000 Dt/d NESE by two years. That project had been stalled amid difficulty obtaining water and wetlands permits in New York and New Jersey.

New York City Scott Stringer and a group of state legislators April 7 urged FERC to deny the two-year extension for NESE, saying they supported the state Department of Environmental Conservation's denial of the project. They cited New York City's "vehement opposition" and their enthusiastic support for renewable alternatives, referencing climate change and environmental justice considerations. Environmental groups also opposed the NESE extension and sought to extend the comment period.

Sabal Trail also has faced opposition from environmental groups along the way. In April 2020, FERC gave it permission to place two compressor stations into service over objections from environmental groups that warned the signoff would increase the pollution burden on a mostly African American community facing a high COVID-19 infection rate.

Litigation over the project's certificate order by environmental groups resulted in a consequential decision August 2017 in in which FERC's certificate order was struck down and the regulator was told to better explain its reasoning for not considering the downstream greenhouse gas emissions of the power plants associated with the pipeline.

To the pipeline companies' relief, FERC in mid-March 2018 acted to reinstate the certificate orders and added to its environmental impact statement before the court mandate went into effect. The decision avoided interrupting flows on the pipeline and the connected Hillabee Expansion and Florida Southeast Connection.