There is a new 1,000-megawatt power plant fueled by natural gas in western Pennsylvania, Kallanish Energy reports.
The Hickory Run Energy Center in Lawrence County near New Castle, Pennsylvania, began commercial operations in mid-May.
It can produce enough electricity to power 1 million homes and is being fueled with natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shales in the Appalachian Basin.
The $863 million project that is about 45 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was developed by Kansas-based Tyr Energy, a subsidiary of Japan’s ITOCHU Corp.
The plant is owned and operated by Hickory Run Holdings, a joint venture of Tyr Energy (50%), Kansai Electrical Power (30%), and Siemens Financial Services (20%).
The plant includes two gas-powered turbine generators and a steam turbine generator as well as two heat recovery steam generators.
Construction began in August 2017.
It was built atop a former manufacturing site.
At peak, about 500 construction workers were employed on the project.
The project was first proposed n 2013 by an affiliate of New Jersey-based LS Power Associates.
Tyr Energy acquired the project in June 2016.
Tyr Energy will provide all asset management services and NAES Corp., a Tyr affiliate, will provide operations and maintenance of the plant.
The facility employs 23 workers.
Natural gas in 2019 produced about 34% of Pennsylvania’s electricity and that percentage is expected to grow to 45% by the end of 2022, according to state agencies.
