Could natural gas finally be coming to the Eastern Shore?

Natural gas may finally be coming to the Eastern Shore.

Colorless and odorless in its natural state, natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel according to the US Department of Energy, providing more energy efficiency for users and lower emissions. Natural gas is also approximately 2 to 3 times cheaper than the cost of propane and electricity.

Over the past week, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership has been on the Eastern Shore conducting a study to determine the feasibility of bringing a natural gas pipeline across the Pocomoke River into Accomack County, to the Accomac Perdue Plant.

When the project was studied several years ago, the pipeline Maryland was running south was not large enough to supply to Accomack County. However, Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan has sent another, larger pipe south of Princess Anne to supply the University of Maryland’s Eastern Shore and the Eastern Correctional Institute in the Westover area. This line does have the capacity to supply fuel to Accomack County.

“It’s a numbers game, a pure math equation. The more people that sign on and say ‘I’ll buy gas, and pay a premium for 10 years,’ the lower the state investment, the higher the chances it succeeds economically,” said Delegate Rob Bloxom. “Once it’s economically feasible, we can get state and private investment to make it a reality.”

Bloxom had $25 million teed up in the 2022 Virginia General Assembly for the project, but the utilities company, Chesapeake Utilities, couldn’t commit to the amount of state investment they needed. Bloxom then pivoted and put in a budget amendment in for $200,000 to pay for the economic feasibility study.

“If the state sees long term profitability, then I hope we can get state support to put money in up front and get it back over 30 years,” the Delegate added.

A similar approach was used with the Amazon Fulfillment Center built outside of Washington, D.C. The Commonwealth of Virginia made state investment available as long as Amazon hit certain metrics, such as jobs created. A similar approach was used with RocketLab at Wallops.

Potential customers of the gas line include NASA/Wallops, the Peaker Plant in northern Accomack County, RocketLab, Perdue & Tyson.

In an interview on Tuesday with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, he indicated he would support the project, which would be transformational for the Eastern Shore:

“I’m very supportive of it,” said the Governor. “The overall scope of the project is not fully completed yet. Therefore, how it would be funded and supported by of course the operator and the customers still has to be worked through.”