Project Overview
The Ventura to Farmington A-line Abandonment and Capacity Replacement Project (V2F) and the Northern Lights 2027 Expansion Project (NL27) are two projects which are being filed together with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). V2F is an operational project in which Northern will be abandoning in-place approximately 131 miles of its vintage 16-inch-diameter pipeline system and replacing it with approximately 18 miles of 30- and 36-inch-diameter pipeline extensions in various counties in Iowa and Minnesota. Following completion of abandonment activities, the abandoned pipeline and associated appurtenances will be purchased by a third-party salvage company. NL27 is a market-driven project which will allow Northern to accommodate requests from its customers for firm natural gas transportation capacity along Northern's existing pipeline system with the installation of approximately 28 miles of pipeline extensions and the uprate of an existing compressor station in various counties in Minnesota. The two projects are being filed together with FERC because proposed extensions on two of the pipelines (Lake Mills M500 E-line and Albert Lea M500 E-line) are required for each project and will be constructed concurrently.
Northern is proposing to abandon, construct, and operate the following facilities in Minnesota and Iowa.
V2F
| Component Type | Component Description | County | State |
| Pipeline | Abandonment in place of 105.76 miles of the 16-inch-diameter M500 A-line | Hancock and Worth
Freeborn, Steele, Rice, and Dakota | IA MN |
| | Abandonment in place of 25.35 miles of 16-inch-diameter M500 J-line | Worth
Dakota | IA
MN |
| | 8.29-mile extension of the 36-inch-diameter Lake Mills M500 E-line | Freeborn | MN |
| | 2.09-mile extension of the 36-inch-diameter Albert Lea M500 E-line | Steele | MN |
| | 7.50-mile extension of the 30-inch-diameter Faribault M500 D-line | Dakota | MN |
NL27
| Component Type | Component Description | County | State |
| Pipeline | 2.32-mile extension of the 36-inch-diameter Lake Mills M500 E-line | Freeborn | MN |
| | 3.42-mile extension of the 36-inch-diameter Albert Lea M500 E-line | Steele | MN |
| | 1.78-mile extension of the 24-inch-diameter Willmar 3rd branch line upstream | Scott | MN |
| | 4.78-mile extension of the 24-inch-diameter Willmar 3rd branch line downstream | Carver | MN |
| | 1.24-mile extension of the 16-inch-diameter Welcome 2nd line | Martin | MN |
| | 2.45-mile extension of the 4-inch-diameter MNB59202 Paynesville 2nd branch line | Stearns | MN |
| | 2.17-mile extension of the 8-inch-diameter Worthington 2nd branch line | Jackson | MN |
| | 7.40-mile extension of the 8-inch-diameter Springfield 2nd branch line | Watonwan | MN |
| | 1.59-mile extension of the 12-inch-diameter Minnesota Interconnect branch line | Isanti | MN |
| | 1.28-mile extension of the 8-inch-diameter Alexandria 2nd branch line | Morrison | MN |
| Compression | Uprate of Hugo compressor station | Washington | MN |
Northern plans to file its section 7 application requesting project approval from FERC in February 2026. Northern is anticipating that approval for the projects, subject to FERC review, will occur in February 2027. With the exception of the Faribault M500 D-line extension for the V2F project, Northern is planning to commence pipeline extension construction activities for the V2F and NL27 projects as well as the Hugo compressor station uprate in spring 2027, or upon FERC authorization, and be in service no later than November 1, 2027. The pipeline extension construction activities for the Faribault M500 D-line (V2F project) will commence in spring 2028 and be in service no later than November 1, 2028. The pipeline abandonment will be completed spring 2029 after the pipeline extensions are placed in service.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
- Should you have any questions please feel free to contact Northern at 1-888-367-6671, which is operated 24 hours a day seven days a week. If you call, please tell the operator that you are calling about the V2F and NL27 project.
- You also may email us at: V2F_NL27@nngco.com