Plans to store LNG in city

FortisBC is hosting a public information session about its plan to store LNG in Kelowna to help meet peak demand during cold days.

The utility is holding the session Monday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Hyatt Place Kelowna to provide information about the “Okanagan Capacity Mitigation Project.”

The plan will see the construction of a small-scale facility of six horizontal storage tanks on industrial zoned land owned by FortisBC off Spall Road, north of Harvey Avenue.

The tanks would have a total capacity of about 1,140 cubic metres of LNG and would remain empty for most of the year. They would be filled in advance of winters to help meet demand on very cold days.

The LNG tanks are expected to be in operation by 2026-2027.

The application, which is before the BC Utilities Commission, comes after the BCUC rejected a proposal by FortisBC to construct a 30-kilometre pipeline between Chute Lake and Penticton.

FortisBC says there will be a shortfall of natural gas within two years due to increased demands for energy from increased growth.

The BCUC, however, did not agree with FortisBC’s demand projections and has rejected the $327 million pipeline project because it "was not necessary for public convenience or in the public interest.”

The commission further stated the FortisBC application did not consider that the demand for natural gas could flatten or decrease due to the province’s climate action policies.

Instead, it directed Fortis to examine potential short-term mitigation solutions instead.

The storage tank project is that proposed solution.