Dominion plans new pipeline in northern NC

Dominion is planning to build a new natural gas pipeline spanning 45 miles in the Northern part of the state, crossing through Person, Caswell, and Rockingham counties. Dominion spokesperson Persida Montanez says the pipeline is needed to meet increased demand from its 430,000 customers and federal safety regulations.

Montanez says the new pipeline will run parallel to an existing pipeline in Dominion's corridor. The pipeline, called the T15 Reliability Project, will also supply natural gas to Duke Energy's planned new natural gas plants that will replace the current coal-fired plant in Roxboro.

While natural gas releases less carbon than coal when burned, its primary component is methane, a powerful greenhouse gas with 80 times the heat-trapping potential of carbon dioxide over two decades.

Person County commissioners vote to approve 600-acre Dominion natural gas facility despite community's protest

Utilities have received criticism in recent years for relying too heavily on natural gas, stunting net-zero climate goals for the energy sector.

“To be clear, it’s not just the greenhouse gasses released from the production and transmission of gas that make it bad for our planet,” says Amanda Levin, a policy analyst for Natural Resources Defense Council. “The combustion of gas for energy has a high carbon footprint as well.”

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2021, emissions from natural gas combustion accounted for about 34% of total U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions.