Natural gas distributor Atlanta Gas Light, a part of Southern Company, said it has started building a second tank at its LNG facility in Cherokee County, Georgia, as it looks to meet growing demand in the region.
The project would double the LNG storage facility’s capacity and would allow Atlanta Gas Light to “stay ahead of projected natural gas demands in this fast-growing region for years to come,” the firm said in a statement.
In addition, the firm said the second storage tank would allow it to store gas “when it is most affordable and then have access to that supply during periods of peak demand.”
Atlanta Gas Light said it would build the new LNG tank in phases over the next three years.
Also, this LNG facility makes part of Atlanta Gas Light’s first ever Integrated Capacity Development Plan. The Georgia Public Service Commission approved this plan in November 2021, it said.
The current plant, built in 1988, has a single tank capable of storing two billion cubic feet (2 Bcf) of natural gas with a sendout capacity of 400,000 dekatherms per day.
As part of the the expansion, the facility will get the second 2 Bcf tank but also the necessary facilities to add an additional 400,000 Dth per day of sendout capacity.
Atlanta Gas Light said in the approved plan that costs for the new tank and the facilities would reach about $234 million.
According to Atlanta Gas Light, it currently provides natural gas delivery service to about 1.7 million customers in Georgia.
Besides this storage facility, Georgia is also home to Kinder Morgan’s Elba Island 2.5 mtpa liquefaction plant, one of the seven large LNG export terminals in the US.