Texas Eastern Transmission (Texas Eastern) has filed an application with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting authorization for its Athens Optimization Project. Texas Eastern seeks to replace four 1950s-era GE Frame 3 natural gas turbine units totaling 32,000 hp (23,872 kW) with two Solar Titan 130 gas turbine units totaling 36,200 hp (27,005 kW) — a net increase of approximately 4200 hp (3133 kW) at its Athens Compressor Station in Athens County, Ohio. The resulting increase in design horsepower at the Station will enable Texas Eastern to provide an additional 50,000 dekatherms per day of incremental firm natural gas transportation capacity on Texas Eastern’s pipeline system to NextEra Energy Marketing LLC to serve an existing utilities company in Garrard County, Kentucky.
Abandonment of the existing GE turbine units will be phased to maintain station operations during construction, with abandonment activities expected to begin in the first quarter of 2028. Overall, construction and abandonment are anticipated to take approximately 17 months, with a planned in-service date during the first quarter of 2028 and a construction completion date in the second quarter of 2028.
