Maryland county benefits as natural gas rolls into town
A new initiative to bring natural gas to one of three Maryland counties without gas access promises to support environmentally conscious economic growth.
The Somerset County Expansion Project will deliver natural gas service to Eastern Correctional Institution and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, helping to improve each facility’s environmental profile while offering significant economic benefits to the area, according to Chesapeake Utilities, which is developing the project with its subsidiary Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company.
Eastern Correctional Institution and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore will reduce their site carbon dioxide emissions by 65% and 38%, respectively—equal to removing more than 11,000 cars from the road, according to the utility.
Residents and businesses along the line will also have the choice to use money-saving natural gas service. The residential price of natural gas is up to 70% cheaper than the residential price of electricity, and commercial and industrial customers who convert from heating oil to natural gas on average save more than $12,000 annually, the utility said.
“With an unemployment rate at 9.1% and the highest poverty rate in the state of Maryland at 23.4%, Somerset County residents would greatly benefit from access to natural gas, as it would provide additional tax revenue, decrease local businesses’ energy costs and help create more jobs,” Danny Thompson, executive director, Somerset County Economic Development Commission, told American Gas.
A recent study by Towson University demonstrates that the impact of natural gas expansions in Maryland will be a boon to the local workforce, with the potential for this project to create more than 1,300 construction jobs over the next 10 years and more than $7 million in new wages as a result of lower energy costs.
Extending natural gas service to Somerset County also opens the door to the expanded use of renewable natural gas in the coming years.
Chesapeake Utilities is pursuing opportunities to purchase locally sourced biogas from leading enviro-tech companies that partner with the region’s agriculture industry, such as CleanBay Renewables in Maryland. In collaboration with CleanBay, Chesapeake Utilities will transport the RNG produced at CleanBay’s planned Westover, Maryland, biorefinery to Chesapeake Utilities’ natural gas infrastructure in the Delmarva region.
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation is leading the way in developing RNG from organic sources derived from the Eastern Shore’s agricultural operations, Shane Breakie, vice president of Chesapeake Utilities, told American Gas. The Somerset project will further facilitate the delivery of RNG produced on the Eastern Shore into the company’s natural gas distribution system.