The United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday approved the expansion of TC Energy’s Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN), known as the GTN Xpress Project, despite opposition to the project from environmental groups and government officials.
The project will expand the capacity of the GTN pipeline, which runs through Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, by about 150 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
With the approval, the company can now upgrade three existing compressor stations along the pipeline, the No. 5 Athol, No. 7 Starbuck, and No. 10 Kent compressor stations, located in Kootenai County, Idaho; Walla Walla County, Washington; and Sherman County, Oregon, respectively.
The expansion is opposed by environmental groups and political leaders who say it will prevent the West Coast states from achieving their climate change-related goals, damage the environment, and pose a heightened wildfire risk, among other concerns.
“Today’s decision by FERC flies in the face of what is morally and economically necessary to protect our communities from the worsening impacts of climate change,” Washington Governor Jay Inslee (Democrat) said in a statement Thursday.
“The federal government has finally begun making tremendous climate investments under the Inflation Reduction Act, but this decision essentially digs the hole deeper and locks in long-term capital investments that prevent us from reaching our national and state goals.”
A group of Democratic Senators from Washington and Oregon said in a letter to the FERC after the vote: “GTN Xpress represents a significant expansion of methane gas infrastructure at a time when California, Oregon, and Washington are moving away from fossil fuels.”
Calgary, Canada-based TC Energy said the project is necessary to meet consumer demand and would "play a critical role in keeping energy affordable and reliable for consumers in California and the Pacific Northwest.”
"We appreciate FERC's bipartisan action today to approve the project and will work diligently to place it into service as soon as possible,” the company said in a statement emailed to media outlets on Thursday.
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