JEA and Sempra sign joint development agreement

JEA, a power utility company based in Jacksonville, Florida, has signed a joint development agreement with the Californian company Sempra US Gas & Power. The agreement states that both companies will work together to explore several projects, including expansion of the local gas pipeline network, and the potential construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on Florida’s northeast coastline.

The companies, the JEA Exuctive Director Paul McElroy said, have moved forward from a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to the joint development phase, now getting underway.

Both companies will invest US$ 2.5 million in the due diligence stage, investigating, among other things, the cost, design, permitting requirements and location of a future LNG plant. The JEA is said to be considering two possible construction sites.

This move will see JEA distancing itself from the use of coal in favour of a more economical and eco-friendly fuel in natural gas to generate electricity, as federal regulations are likely to introduce legislation expounding reduction of carbon footprint. Currently, JEA acquires its gas from sources from out of the state, where natural gas is transported through the national pipeline network. In the long-term, JEA will consider the expansion of the local pipeline network to accommodate increasing amounts of natural gas in the area.

Earlier in January, Clean Energy Fuels, owned by Texas businessman T. Boone Pickens, announced the opening of its LNG fuelling station in North Jacksonville – the first LNG station in Florida. CXS has also been analysing the possible usage of LNG as fuel as Florida’s natural gas market continues to expand.

Edited from various sources by Ted Monroe

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/22012014/joint_development_agreement_for_jea_and_sempra/