Port of Tacoma approves lease for LNG facility

The Port of Tacoma has approved a lease for plans by Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to build a US$ 275 million LNG facility.

The proposed facility will allow PSE to continue providing dependable, affordable natural gas service to 770,000 residential and commercial natural gas customers in Western Washington during periods of peak demand. It will also provide an opportunity to serve local transportation companies looking to shift from traditional fuel sources to cleaner LNG.

Comments

Commenting on the approval, PSE President and CEO, Kimberly Harris, said: "We are excited to make this environmental and economic investment for Tacoma. It provides significant clean air benefits, reinforces our service to existing customers, generates economic opportunities in the region, allows us to pursue new markets, and keeps our customers' rates down."

TOTE LNG supply

PSE is also expected to sign an agreement to supply TOTE with LNG to fuel its two Orca-class cargo ships that travel weekly between Tacoma and Anchorage, Alaska. In 2012, TOTE announced plans to upgrade those two vessels to run on LNG instead of diesel fuel. This innovative technology and cleaner fuel source will help TOTE exceed the EPA's new air-emission standards, which require vessels operating within a 200-mile zone along US and Canadian coastal waters to reduce sulfur emissions from their engines to improve air quality.

The PSE facility, when completed, will provide enough LNG production and storage capacity to replace approximately 47 million gallons of diesel fuel a year. Construction on the new facility is anticipated to begin with site preparation in 2015 and be completed by the end of 2018.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/28082014/port-of-tacoma-approves-lng-facility-lease-1298/