Chesapeake Utilities Corporation announced that its subsidiary, Peninsula Pipeline Company (PPC), received approval from the Florida Public Service Commission for three projects that expand natural gas infrastructure to benefit customers of Florida City Gas (FCG), also a subsidiary of Chesapeake Utilities.
The projects, located in Florida's Brevard, Indian River and Miami-Dade counties, will bring renewable natural gas produced from local landfills into FCG's natural gas distribution system. Benefits of these PPC projects include increased gas supply to serve expected FCG growth, strengthened system reliability and additional system flexibility. The projects represent a combined capital investment of $46 million and are estimated to be completed in the first half of 2025.
"These renewable natural gas infrastructure projects further demonstrate Chesapeake Utilities' commitment to both growth and sustainability. These projects use methane that would otherwise escape into the environment and allow this renewable, locally sourced gas to be transported into our system for the beneficial use of our customers," said Kevin Webber, senior vice president and chief development officer. "They highlight our ability to meet customer demand by leveraging our transmission and distribution systems to safely and reliably deliver renewable natural gas into growing markets."
In Brevard County, once completed, the project will reinforce FCG's system with a new alternative gas source, bringing additional supply of 3,200 Dth/day into the FCG distribution system. Additionally, it will create flow design enhancements that position FCG's system to meet expected new demand growth in the county. The Brevard County project will consist of approximately five miles of new transmission infrastructure with a total capital spend of approximately $6 million.
The Indian River County project will see equivalent results with the project resulting in the interconnection of three existing transmission systems once completed. The new facilities will result in 3,200 Dth/day of additional supply into the FCG distribution system, providing resiliency to customers and consist of approximately 14 miles of new transmission infrastructure, a district regulator station, a tie-in with FCG's distribution system and an interconnect with existing PPC facilities. The total capital spend of the Indian River County project will be approximately $18 million.
The third project, in Miami-Dade County, will bring an additional 6,700 Dth/day of capacity to the area via approximately eight miles of new transmission infrastructure and a new district regulator station that is tied in with FCG's distribution system. The project will support the need for additional supply in this area of South Florida, while also reinforcing FCG's system with locally-sourced renewable natural gas. The total capital spend of the project will be approximately $22 million.
In addition, the Florida Public Service Commission approved the transfer of the Pioneer Supply Pipeline asset from FCG to PPC, which allows Chesapeake Utilities to better align its assets and services within its relevant subsidiaries. Pioneer Supply will continue to provide service to FCG and FPU through two existing contracts and will now add two new delivery offtakes to serve additional gas supply needs for FPU.
