Land Battles Rise as U.S. Eyes 450,000 Miles of New Pipe
“A 2011 study conducted for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that between 17,000 and 22,000 miles of new transmission lines, plus the corridors to accommodate them, would be required for the eastern half of the U.S. alone if the nation were to provide 20 percent of its electricity with wind power by 2030.
In the oil and gas industry, much more land will be needed as pipelines are built to connect growing production from shale fields to refineries and markets. Just one facet of the network — long-haul natural gas pipelines — may grow by 23 percent by 2035, according to a report from the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.
Pennsylvania, which holds a good portion of the Marcellus Shale gas field, has determined that private pipelines, including the gathering lines that take shale gas from fields to larger transmission lines, can’t employ eminent domain unless they’re open to all customers, Patrick Henderson, an aide to Governor Tom Corbett, said in an e-mail.
North Dakota, home of the Bakken Shale formation, allows gathering pipelines to be considered common carriers, although it’s unclear how many have tried to register that way, says Pat Fahn, director of compliance for the state’s Public Service Commission.
In Texas, the biggest oil-and-gas producing state, legislators in 2011 required pipeline companies and other private entities to make a good faith offer before condemning private property, and provide landowners with copies of appraisals used to determine the value of the offer.”
Lee, Mike and Ken Wells. Bloomber Reports 3 February 2013.