Heath and Associates, a Shelby, N.C.-based engineering firm that conducted the feasibility study for Alleghany County, places the estimated cost for constructing a natural gas system to the Alleghany Regional Commerce Center in Low Moor at $15.6 million. Columbia Gas of Virginia’s latest estimate is $26.5 million.
The capital costs to extend natural gas service to Low Moor are very high relative to the existing commercial/industrial energy needs. The mountainous terrain and distance from existing natural gas service presents challenges to construction that will not change.