A new natural gas conversion plant in Bradford County will liquefy natural gas for transport by truck instead of pipeline. This gas previously was stranded in Pennsylvania due to regulatory resistance to new pipeline construction in neighboring New York state.
New Fortress Energy have begun civil site construction for their 40-acre plant along Route 6 in Wyalusing Township, Bradford County.
“The proposed plant will receive locally produced natural gas and process it into LNG,” company spokesperson Jake Suski said in an e-mail.
“Because of the lack of pipeline structure in the US, we’re forced to do LNG,” Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko explained.
Regulatory delays and moratoriums on new gas hookups in New York and Massachusetts have stalled the construction of pipeline infrastructure that would have carried Marcellus gas to Northeastern markets.
The New Fortress Energy plant will liquefy natural gas by cooling it to -260 degrees Fahrenheit, Suski wrote. This process makes it easier to transport the gas to consumers who aren’t connected to a pipeline.
The company estimates that once the plant is complete, as many as 15 trucks per hour will travel to and from it.
Commissioner McLinko said that Route 6 commuters should not expect any significant delays or traffic pattern changes.
“The Planning Commission of Wyalusing township did a traffic study,” Commissioner McLinko said.
Construction of the plant will create an estimated 500 temporary jobs.