Virginia’s environmental cops have hit Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company (Transco) with a $179,068.50 civil charge over erosion and sediment control violations on the Pittsylvania County stretch of the Southeast Supply Enhancement (SSE) Project — the single most important new outlet for Marcellus/Utica gas heading south. Read More “Virginia Fines Williams $179K Over Erosion Controls on Transco SSE”
Williams dropped its second quarter 2026 results after the close on Monday, August 3, and held the analyst call Tuesday morning. The headline numbers are good: adjusted EBITDA of $1.921 billion (up 6%), GAAP net income of $827 million (up 51%), and a raised full-year guidance midpoint of $8.4 billion. Wall Street liked it. But the story for MDN readers isn’t in the headline. It’s buried in the volume tables on page 8 of the release, in a capital spending line nobody read out loud, and in two new Transco projects in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that got about eleven seconds of airtime on the call. Read More “Williams’ M-U Assets Generate 25% of Earnings, Get 3% of Capex”
Back in March, we told you about two radical green groups — the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Sierra Club — running to court to block new gas-fired turbines at Georgia Power’s Plant Bowen in Bartow County, Georgia (see Big Green Sues to Block Clean-Burning Gas Plant in Bartow County, GA). Yesterday, July 28, the shovels went in the ground anyway. Georgia Power, joined by two senior U.S. Department of Energy officials, formally broke ground in Euharlee on a project that adds roughly 1,485 megawatts (MW) of combined-cycle natural gas generation plus a 500 MW battery storage system using Tesla Megapacks. The new units are expected to fire up in three to four years — before the end of the decade. DOE tied the project to a $26.5 billion federal loan to parent company Southern Company. Big Green showed up too, but only with a press release. Read More “Shovels Hit Dirt: GA Power Breaks Ground on Plant Bowen Expansion”
Last November, New Jersey (and New York) issued a federal Clean Water Act permit to build the Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project (see Trump Won: New York & New Jersey Issue Water Permits for NESE Pipe). In addition to various state and federal permits required for NESE, the project needed approval from the New Jersey Tidelands Resource Council, a 12-member panel appointed by the state governor and working with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) staff. The Tidelands Council issued its approval of NESE in May of this year (see Obscure NJ State Agency Grants Approval for Williams NESE Pipe). The green group Clean Ocean Action is now suing NJ over the Tidelands approval. Read More “Clean Ocean Action Sues NJ Agency for Approving NESE Pipe”
Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE) is a 55-mile, 42-inch-wide pipeline that will run through Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and Rockingham, Guilford, Forsyth, and Davidson counties in North Carolina. Construction for SESE started March 2, 2026, according to FERC filings. Transco (Williams) received its final federal authorization and a Notice to Proceed, and crews mobilized in early spring. Initial activities have included tree felling, installation of acoustic barriers, and test drilling in preparation for blasting. Antis finally gave up trying to block construction of SESE in June (see Antis Give Up Trying to Block Permit for Transco SESE Pipeline). Now comes word that Williams will “throttle back” southbound natural gas flows on the Transco system for most of the summer to accommodate work on SESE. Read More “Transco Throttles Southbound M-U Molecules to Work on SESE Project”
A new pipeline project to tell you about! That’s always a red-letter day here at MDN. The mighty Transco pipeline (subsidiary of Williams) is holding a binding open season (which ends today) for its proposed Leidy Access Expansion, which would add up to 175,000 Dth/d (roughly 175 MMcf/d) of firm capacity to move Marcellus/Utica gas east from Pennsylvania toward demand centers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland by Nov. 1, 2027. The project would use existing Leidy Line infrastructure from the MARC I interconnect in Lycoming County, PA, to a new transfer point in Luzerne County, PA, limiting environmental impacts. Read More “Williams Open Season to Expand Transco Gas Eastbound to PA, NJ, MD”
Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE) is a 55-mile, 42-inch-wide pipeline that will run through Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and Rockingham, Guilford, Forsyth, and Davidson counties in North Carolina. It will provide natural gas to Duke Energy customers. Big Green sued to overturn a federal water quality permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Big Green wanted the court to block construction until the full case could be heard. In May, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circuit) rejected arguments Big Green put forward that claimed the Army Corps’ decision was “arbitrary and capricious” and refused to block construction (see 4th Circuit Panel Rejects Antis’ Plea to Block Transco SESE Work). And now, Big Green is throwing in the towel on the entire lawsuit. Read More “Antis Give Up Trying to Block Permit for Transco SESE Pipeline”
One week ago, MDN told you that a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circuit) heard oral arguments from Big Green asking the court to block construction of Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE) while a court case challenging permits issued for the project grinds slowly through the legal system (see 4th Circuit Judge Tells Antis to Post a $100M Bond to Block Pipe). This past Monday, the judges politely (in legalese) told Big Green to kiss off. Read More “4th Circuit Panel Rejects Antis’ Plea to Block Transco SESE Work”
It seems that not all of the judges who sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circuit) are clowns, the way the three judges who oversee cases dealing with the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate project are (see 4th Circus Clown Judges Badmouth MVP Southgate in Oral Arguments). Another major pipeline project that, in some senses, competes with Southgate, Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE), is also being sued by Big Green to block it (see Big Green Sues to Cancel Water Permit for Transco SESE Project). The case is also before the 4th Circuit, where oral arguments were heard yesterday. The SESE case is being heard by three judges different from those hearing the Southgate case. Read More “4th Circuit Judge Tells Antis to Post a $100M Bond to Block Pipe”
In April, MDN reported that anti-fossil fuel fanatics had not yet given up on trying to block construction of the Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline, a $1 billion+ project designed to increase Transco pipeline capacity and flows of Marcellus gas heading into New York City and other northeastern markets. Even though there was an official groundbreaking ceremony at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field in New York City in April, antis are still doing their best to block this project. They pinned one of their last hopes on a relatively obscure state agency in New Jersey, pressuring it to refuse to issue a license for the project (see Antis Hold Out Hope to Block NESE Pipe Via Obscure NJ State Agency). Bad news for antis: the agency just voted to *approve* the project. Read More “Obscure NJ State Agency Grants Approval for Williams NESE Pipe”
Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the Williams Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (see FERC Approves Williams Transco SESE Pipeline Project for VA, NC). The $1.5 billion SESE project will add 1.6 million dekatherms per day (1.6 Bcf/d) of natural gas transportation capacity, equivalent to serving approximately 9.8 million homes. It will be built in the same general area as the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate project, starting near Chatham, Virginia, and ending near Eden, North Carolina. Five environmental groups have sued to overturn a federal permit granted to Transco for the SESE project. Read More “Big Green Sues to Cancel Water Permit for Transco SESE Project”
Yesterday, Williams marked the official start of construction on the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project with a groundbreaking ceremony at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York City. It was an energy-star-studded event. Williams CEO Chad Zamarin was, of course, there and spoke. Other luminaries attending and speaking included U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. Also on hand for the ceremony was (surprise!) FERC Chairwoman Laura Swett. We don’t ever recall a FERC commissioner attending a groundbreaking ceremony for a pipeline. Read More “Groundbreaking Ceremony for NESE Pipe in NYC an All-Star Event”
As we reported last week, anti-fossil fuel fanatics haven’t given up on trying to block construction of the Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline, a $1 billion+ project designed to increase Transco pipeline capacity and flows of Marcellus gas heading into New York City and other northeastern markets (see Zombie Antis Fight to Block Williams NESE Pipeline in NY, NJ). Even though ground will break on construction *today* at a ceremony at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field in New York City, antis are still doing their best to block this project. Their latest angle of attack is to demand (antis always demand) that a relatively obscure state agency in New Jersey reject issuing a license for the project. Read More “Antis Hold Out Hope to Block NESE Pipe Via Obscure NJ State Agency”
We spotted an interesting article that posits Williams’ strategy is to expand its mighty Transco natural gas pipeline system by increasing the capacity of existing infrastructure rather than building new pipelines. The Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) is the largest-volume, highest-capacity interstate natural gas transmission system in the U.S. It spans roughly 10,000 miles (with 60+ compressor stations) from the Gulf Coast (Texas/Louisiana) to New York City. The Williams strategy of expanding Transco rather than building new pipes minimizes disruption to communities and the environment while meeting growing demand from residential, commercial, industrial, and power generation sectors. Read More “Williams Strategy: Expand Existing Transco Rather Than Build New”
Williams Companies is breaking ground tomorrow on the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline in Brooklyn — the first new pipeline in New York in over a decade — signaling a broader national natural gas infrastructure boom. Driven by AI data center power demand, LNG export growth, and population expansion, the U.S. is tracking over 150 pipeline projects representing roughly 150 Bcf (billion cubic feet) of daily capacity. Read More ““Boring” Pipelines Great Again Thx to Data Ctrs; NESE Breaks Ground”
Anti-fossil fuel fanatics haven’t given up on trying to block construction of the Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline, a $1 billion+ project designed to increase Transco pipeline capacity and flows of Marcellus gas heading into New York City and other northeastern markets. Last November, the states of New York and New Jersey issued federal Clean Water Act permits for their respective states, allowing NESE to be built (see Trump Won: New York & New Jersey Issue Water Permits for NESE Pipe). Antis sued both the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the environmental agencies of NY and NJ (see Radicals Sue NY, NJ to Block NESE Pipeline Water Permits). Antis are now trying to persuade the new radical governor of NJ, Mikie Sherrill, to deny permits that allow construction to begin in her state. Read More “Zombie Antis Fight to Block Williams NESE Pipeline in NY, NJ”