‘These kinds of opportunities do not come along very often’: City Council OKs agreement for gas pipeline from Cadiz, Kentucky
A rare opportunity has presented itself to the City of Clarksville, as a natural gas pipeline is planned to stretch from Cadiz, Kentucky, to the state line.
CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A rare opportunity has presented itself to the City of Clarksville, as a natural gas pipeline is planned to stretch from Cadiz, Kentucky, to the state line, offering a redundant supply of natural gas for Clarksville.
A resolution was approved last week by the City Council that enters the Clarksville Gas & Water Department into an interlocal agreement with the Pennyrile Regional Energy Agency (PREA), which will supply CGW with natural gas.
‘What this project probably should have been from Day 1’
At last Tuesday’s council meeting, CGW General Manager Mark Riggins said that some may remember that many years ago Gas & Water had plans to run a redundant line from Elkton, Kentucky, to Clarksville. CGW did not end up pursuing the project, which led to the proposal that went before the City Council under new business this month.
“This agreement with PREA is what this project probably should have been from Day 1,” Riggins said. “PREA is actually running the line, not from Elkton, but Cadiz, all the way to the Clarksville/Guthrie area. They’re going all the way to Cadiz where they have two 30-inch pipelines with ANR, who can serve all the needs of us and many more.”
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A rare opportunity for redundant gas source
Just as Clarksville has its second water treatment plant that they’re building now, as well as the second sewer treatment plant that they are studying, this project would allow redundancy in the supply of natural gas, said Riggins.
“These kinds of opportunities do not come along very often,” Riggins said. “If we were not to do this, I don’t know if we’ll ever see one for the next 50 years. So, we’re very happy to partner with PREA on this.”
Councilperson Wanda Smith asked Riggins how the interlocal agreement will work.
He said that PREA will build the pipeline from Cadiz to the Tennessee state line. “Which will come approximately where the Industrial Park is. Somewhere west between Guthrie Highway and Tiny Town Road,” Riggins said. “Then, we will build the infrastructure from the state line to connect to our line in the Industrial Park. … D2 Energy is the consultant for PREA, and we’ve hired that same consultant because there are cost savings and there’s no need for two engineering firms competing or at odds. So, we hired D2 Energy to design our side of that meter as well.”
The Clarksville City Council unanimously approved the first and final reading of the resolution on Thursday night.
Over the weekend, Riggins told Clarksville Now that, “We will be speaking with our large industrial gas users about future expansion possibilities which may require additional natural gas demand. We can use this info to negotiate additional demands and capacity with PREA to serve our community’s needs.
“Also, I must say how grateful I am for D2 Energy and PREA for their diligence and hard work toward our partnership. The entire Kentucky and Clarksville region will eternally continue to reap the benefits of this partnership.”
What’s next for gas pipeline
Riggins said the total demand for PREA, determined by the number of customers and their individual demands, will determine the size of the infrastructure. “Basically, the more gas needed, the larger the pipe,” he said.
“Worst case, if some unforeseen circumstance prevented PREA constructing the pipeline, the agreement would become null and void, due to the fact that payments are made on units of gas delivered. No gas delivered, no payment made.”
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