Natural gas distributor Atlanta Gas Light, a unit of Southern Company, has raised the roof on the second tank at its LNG facility in Cherokee County, Georgia.
The firm completed the operation, which took about 4 hours, on August 2.
Weighing 444 tons, or as much as 11 humpback whales, the domed roof is approximately 200 feet (61 meters) in diameter and 36 feet (11 meters) in height, according to Atlanta Gas Light.
Construction of the inner LNG containment shell within the outer wall will begin in the coming months.
Once complete, the new LNG tank will store an additional 2 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas onsite to meet Atlanta Gas Light natural gas supply needs.
Construction of the LNG storage facility has been underway since November 2021 and Atlanta Gas Light plans to complete it in phases over the next three years.
The project would allow Atlanta Gas Light to double the facility’s capacity, store gas when it is most affordable and then have access to that supply during periods of peak demand in the county and surrounding regions, it said.
The current plant, built in 1988, has a single tank capable of storing two 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.
According to Atlanta Gas Light, it currently provides natural gas delivery service to about 1.7 million customers in Georgia.