A 48-inch diameter pipe will be used in the construction of the Transwestern Desert Southwest pipeline instead of the 42-inch pipe previously announced in August, Energy Transfer said in a statement. The change will expand the pipeline’s maximum capacity from 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to 2.3 billion cubic feet a day.
The increase follows strong interest from Arizona utilities to secure additional long-term supplies of natural gas to power artificial intelligence data centers and advanced industrial operations, which prompted Energy Transfer to commit to an investment of $5.6 billion, up $300 million from the $5.3 billion announced in August.
“Transwestern’s Desert Southwest pipeline expansion is an important critical source of natural gas,” said Ted Geisler, president of Arizona Public Service, the state’s largest electric utility. “We look forward to Energy Transfer enhancing this project to enable greater resources across the region.”Most of the additional gas supplies will go to the Phoenix area and central Arizona to power the fast-growing AI data center market and industrial users. Arizona is home to 164 data centers, ranking seventh among all states, according to the online tracking platform Data Center Map.
