West Kentucky Star – News

Members of the Pennyrile Area Development District received an update this week on the progress and planning of a multi-county natural gas pipeline coming to the region.

The 53- mile long pipeline will begin near the Lamasco community in Lyon County, follow the I-24 corridor across Caldwell, Trigg, and Christian counties, and end in Guthrie. The goal is to establish service by the end of 2025.

The Pennyrile Regional Energy Agency reported that as of now, less than 20 property owners remain in discussions to acquire rights of way for the pipeline. Engineers believe it will take about nine months to complete the eminent domain acquisitions along the $115 million energy highway.

Officials said that homeowners, businesses, farmers, industrial parks and other municipalities in western Kentucky and northwest Tennessee will be able to connect to the line, and the energy can also be transported to other localities in Kentucky.

Individuals or businesses that want to tap on to the line can buy into the process now at the cost of material only, but once the pipeline is built, it could cost almost five times more.

The pipeline concept, twelve years in the making, took form in 2022 when a bill passed the state legislature that allocated $30 million over two fiscal years. 

The pipeline is the state’s response to the announcement of over $850 million in new business investment coming to those counties.

For more information about the pending pipeline, you can visit pennyrileenergy.com .

(AP file photo)