The United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity to the controversial US$1bn PennEast gas pipeline, which will ship natural gas through the United States, from the Marcellus Shale production area in Pennsylvania to New Jersey. However, the project still requires approval from the New Jersey regulator. The pipeline capacity is already 90% subscribed, which indicates market need for the project.
The PennEast pipeline will stretch from Luzerne County in northeastern Pennsylvania to the Trenton-Woodbury interconnection in New Jersey over 100 miles (160 km). It will have a capacity of 1 bcf/d (10.3 bcm/year) and is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2018, to serve approximately 4.7 million homes. The pipeline is opposed by environmental groups.
Project developer PennEast is a company which was set up by UGI Energy Services (UGIES, subsidiary of UGI Corporation), AGL Resources, NJR Pipeline Company (New Jersey Resources), South Jersey Industries and Spectra Energy Partners, with 20% each. Spectra Energy sold a 10% stake to PSEG Power (part of the Public Service Enterprise Group) in March 2017.