At their regular board meeting on Nov. 23, the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako (RDBN) provided an update on their recent visitation to the Coastal GasLink (CGL) compressor station site.
According to CGL鈥檚 report, these compressor stations are intended to increase the capacity of natural gas through the pipeline. CGL proposed the construction of Parrott Lakes and Titanium Peak compressor stations to the board.
The Parrott Lakes compressor station is located 60 kilometers south of the District of Houston in the Clemretta area and can be accessed via Parrott Lakes FSR from a CGL right-of-way. Titanium Peak is 85 kilometers southwest of the District of Houston and can be accessed via Shea Creek FSR from a CGL right-of-way.
Director of RDBN from the Electoral Area E Francois/Ootsa Lake Rural Clint Lambert said CGL鈥檚 compressor station technology is state-of-the-art.
鈥淚t鈥檚 shockproof and soundproof. Actually, the generator outside was noisier than the compressor.鈥�
Lambert said he was impressed by the demonstration, as he saw a 737 jet engine inside the compressor and could not hear a thing.
Lambert also mentioned that the compressor station had three compressors and was about 50 to 60 acres since the pipeline began. Most of the other CGL compressor stations would have two compressor stations instead of three, and the compounds would be 40 to 50 acres large.
Spokesperson for CGL said, 鈥淭he recently completed Coastal GasLink project has a single at its starting point in northeastern B.C. The project will deliver 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas with the potential to deliver up to 5 bcf/d, through additional compression along the route.鈥�
Director of RDBN from Electoral Area G Houston/Granisle Rural Chris Newell who also participated in this site visitation said he is going to move with the recommendation and agrees with Director Lambert鈥檚 findings. 鈥淚t surely was much less noisy.鈥�
The proposed compressor stations consist of five 30-megawatt natural gas-driven compressor packages. Three compressors were proposed at Parrott Lakes and two at Titanium Peak.
Each station will have additional equipment to support safe and efficient operations, such as gas suction scrubbers/separators, air-cooled heat exchangers [coolers], primary power units and auxiliary power units, skid-mounted electrical and control buildings housing controls and uninterruptible power systems, skid-mounted mechanical building housing glycol heating boiler systems, air compressors, air dryers and air receivers, skid-mounted personnel building housing interface controls and washroom facilities, skid-mounted living quarters building, storage buildings, drum rack building(s), and utility gas regulation enclosures.
CGL added that they will construct temporary communication infrastructures and mitigate operation noise associated with each compressor station鈥檚 construction period. During construction, CGL will manage road use and safety activities to minimize potential traffic congestion impacts.
For the construction of phase 2, CGL will require a smaller workforce of 200 to 250 in each stations. CGL looks forward to creating high-quality, well-paying jobs for local and Indigenous Northern B.C. residents.
Chairperson of RDBN, Mark Parker, called for motion to submit their report to the British Columbia Energy Regulator about their findings from the compressor site visitation. The board ultimately decided to act on it.
