By the OGJ Online Staff
WASHINGTON, DC�The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Wednesday approved the Guardian pipeline project for Illinois and Wisconsin, and expansion of a Southern Natural Gas Co. system in the southeast.
Guardian Pipeline Co., Milwaukee, would build a 141-mile, 36-in. system to carry up to 750 MMcfd from the Chicago hub near Joliet, Ill., to Ixonia, Wis. Also, an 8.5-mile, 16 in.-lateral is planned to near Eagle, Wis.
Guardian Pipeline had agreements with Wisconsin Gas and others to transport 662 MMcfd (88% of design capacity) when the pipeline goes into service in November 2002.
Guardian is a partnership of CMS Energy Co., Dearborn, Mich.; WICOR, a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Co., Milwaukee, Wis.; and Viking Gas Co., a subsidiary of Xcel Energy Inc., St. Paul, Minn.
The $224 million pipeline would serve more than 20 gas-fueled electricity generating plants proposed for northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin in the next decade.
FERC had approved an environmental impact statement for the project in January (OGJ Online, Jan. 8, 2001).
Also Wednesday, the agency approved construction of Southern Natural�s South System Expansion to serve electric generating plants.
The 335.8 MMcfd expansion was supported by 15-year firm transportation agreements with Southern Co., South Carolina Pipeline Corp. of Columbia, SC, and the city of LaGrange, Ga.
The project, which includes 73 miles of pipeline loop and more than 34,000 hp of mainline compression, is estimated to cost $147 million. Completion is due in June 2002.
