Alton Natural Gas Storage
Alton, NS
Location
Up to 10 Bcf of natural gas
Capacity
Yes
Operator
Natural Gas
Fuel Type
100%
Ownership
Through 2039
PPA Contract
To help meet the increasing demand for affordable natural gas year-round in Nova Scotia, Alton Natural Gas Storage LP is developing an underground natural gas storage facility and associated pipelines in the Stewiacke Salt Formation near Alton, Nova Scotia (approximately 70 kilometres from Halifax).
The new gas storage facility will help stabilize Nova Scotia’s natural gas costs year-round by storing the gas in the summer months when the demand is low and withdrawing the gas in the colder winter months, when the demand is high.
Alton Natural Gas Storage will be the only natural gas storage facility in Atlantic Canada and the only storage facility connected to the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline. It will support Nova Scotia's need for clean, economical and reliable energy, and will provide Nova Scotians with affordable natural gas year-round for heating homes, businesses, hospitals and universities.
Natural gas and natural gas storage have an important role to play in Nova Scotia's energy future. With the smallest carbon footprint of any fossil fuel, natural gas is one way Nova Scotia is reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Natural gas is also a highly efficient energy source, delivering more useful energy to customers than other fuel sources like wood, coal or oil.
Salt caverns for gas storage have been used for decades in North America and are a proven and safe system for storing natural gas. The storage facility will consist of:
- Underground engineered salt caverns to store natural gas
- The gas facility will consist of compressors and dehydration units to inject and withdrawal gas into and out of the caverns
- A lateral gas pipeline linking the Alton facility with the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline natural gas transmission system
- Water pipelines from the facility to the convergence of the Shubenacadie and Stewiacke Rivers for the cavern development process
For more information: Alton Natural Gas Storage
General Inquiries:
Alton Natural Gas Storage
902.639.0091
AltonProject@AltaGas.ca
Community Liaison Contact:
Rob Turner, Manager, Stakeholder Relations and Site Services
902.639.0091
rob.turner@altagas.ca
Mailing Address:
Alton Natural Gas Storage
P.O. Box 70
Stewiacke, NS B0N 2J0
Regulatory
The development and operation of an underground natural gas storage facility is highly regulated and requires many permits, licenses and approvals. Alton Natural Gas Storage has received all environmental and regulatory approvals to proceed with development of the facility.
Construction
The next phase of construction will be to develop the caverns for the Alton Natural Gas Storage facility, which involves removing naturally-occurring salt from the ground. A well is drilled into the existing salt formation and tidal water from the Shubenacadie River is cycled through the cavern to dissolve the salt in the deposit. The combination of tidal water and additional salt, called brine, is cycled back up the well leaving an empty space for natural gas storage.
Brining
The brine from the salt cavern will be pumped to a holding pond. The holding pond allows for the controlled release of brine into the river at the appropriate time based on tidal cycles.
The brine will be released into the Alton Channel, a channel adjacent and connected to the Shubenacadie River, where it will mix with the tidal (brackish) river water. The requirements of our monitoring program with Nova Scotia Environment, Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will ensure that the released brine will not impact the ecosystem of the Shubenacadie River.
The tidal Shubenacadie River naturally experiences a range of salt concentrations. The diluted brine that will be released into the river will be within the range of salinities normally experienced in the river.
Project Benefits
- Investing more than $130 million into the local community and economy
- Since 2014, more than 70 Nova Scotia companies have provided goods, services or labour to Alton.
- Creating approximately 110 jobs during construction and approximately 8-10 permanent full time jobs once the project is up and running. It will also create roughly 10-12 full time jobs for service industries
- Providing Nova Scotians with affordable and reliable natural gas year-round from the North American energy network
- Decreasing price volatility for Nova Scotia natural gas customers
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by providing more opportunities for gas fired power generation and reducing our reliance on coal fired generation
- Contributing to the overall economic growth of the community and to the local tax base through income, property, and sales taxes
- Allowing for the potential of developing other energy-related projects by increasing storage capacity
Overview
To help meet the increasing demand for affordable natural gas year-round in Nova Scotia, Alton Natural Gas Storage LP is developing an underground natural gas storage facility and associated pipelines in the Stewiacke Salt Formation near Alton, Nova Scotia (approximately 70 kilometres from Halifax).
The new gas storage facility will help stabilize Nova Scotia’s natural gas costs year-round by storing the gas in the summer months when the demand is low and withdrawing the gas in the colder winter months, when the demand is high.
Alton Natural Gas Storage will be the only natural gas storage facility in Atlantic Canada and the only storage facility connected to the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline. It will support Nova Scotia's need for clean, economical and reliable energy, and will provide Nova Scotians with affordable natural gas year-round for heating homes, businesses, hospitals and universities.
Natural gas and natural gas storage have an important role to play in Nova Scotia's energy future. With the smallest carbon footprint of any fossil fuel, natural gas is one way Nova Scotia is reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Natural gas is also a highly efficient energy source, delivering more useful energy to customers than other fuel sources like wood, coal or oil.
Salt caverns for gas storage have been used for decades in North America and are a proven and safe system for storing natural gas. The storage facility will consist of:
- Underground engineered salt caverns to store natural gas
- The gas facility will consist of compressors and dehydration units to inject and withdrawal gas into and out of the caverns
- A lateral gas pipeline linking the Alton facility with the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline natural gas transmission system
- Water pipelines from the facility to the convergence of the Shubenacadie and Stewiacke Rivers for the cavern development process
For more information: Alton Natural Gas Storage
General Inquiries:
Alton Natural Gas Storage
902.639.0091
AltonProject@AltaGas.ca
Community Liaison Contact:
Rob Turner, Manager, Stakeholder Relations and Site Services
902.639.0091
rob.turner@altagas.ca
Mailing Address:
Alton Natural Gas Storage
P.O. Box 70
Stewiacke, NS B0N 2J0
Updates
Regulatory
The development and operation of an underground natural gas storage facility is highly regulated and requires many permits, licenses and approvals. Alton Natural Gas Storage has received all environmental and regulatory approvals to proceed with development of the facility.
Construction
The next phase of construction will be to develop the caverns for the Alton Natural Gas Storage facility, which involves removing naturally-occurring salt from the ground. A well is drilled into the existing salt formation and tidal water from the Shubenacadie River is cycled through the cavern to dissolve the salt in the deposit. The combination of tidal water and additional salt, called brine, is cycled back up the well leaving an empty space for natural gas storage.
Brining
The brine from the salt cavern will be pumped to a holding pond. The holding pond allows for the controlled release of brine into the river at the appropriate time based on tidal cycles.
The brine will be released into the Alton Channel, a channel adjacent and connected to the Shubenacadie River, where it will mix with the tidal (brackish) river water. The requirements of our monitoring program with Nova Scotia Environment, Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will ensure that the released brine will not impact the ecosystem of the Shubenacadie River.
The tidal Shubenacadie River naturally experiences a range of salt concentrations. The diluted brine that will be released into the river will be within the range of salinities normally experienced in the river.
Community
Project Benefits
- Investing more than $130 million into the local community and economy
- Since 2014, more than 70 Nova Scotia companies have provided goods, services or labour to Alton.
- Creating approximately 110 jobs during construction and approximately 8-10 permanent full time jobs once the project is up and running. It will also create roughly 10-12 full time jobs for service industries
- Providing Nova Scotians with affordable and reliable natural gas year-round from the North American energy network
- Decreasing price volatility for Nova Scotia natural gas customers
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by providing more opportunities for gas fired power generation and reducing our reliance on coal fired generation
- Contributing to the overall economic growth of the community and to the local tax base through income, property, and sales taxes
- Allowing for the potential of developing other energy-related projects by increasing storage capacity