Panda Power Funds has broken ground on a 829MW natural gas-fueled power plant in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, US.
Located on an 85-acre site in Montgomery, the combined-cycle Patriot generating station is expected to be fully operational in mid-2016.
The Panda Patriot facility uses emissions-control technology and features Siemens H-class gas turbines to achieve 60% operating efficiency.
The power plant is expected to contribute an estimated $5.85bn to the local economy within the first ten years of operation.
The Panda Patriot project is located in the Marcellus Shale, expected to be the second-largest natural gas field in the world with about 330 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett said: "This is another project that shows how our ‘all of the above and below’ energy strategy is putting Pennsylvania at the forefront of the American energy revolution.
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By GlobalData"By responsibly harvesting our abundant energy resources, we are creating family-sustaining jobs and are reinvigorating local communities all over Pennsylvania."
The Patriot project, which was originally developed by Moxie Energy, will be built by Gemma Power Systems, via a joint-venture (JV) with Lane Construction.
Upon completion, the natural gas-fuelled generating station will power up to one million homes in Pennsylvania.
The facility is expected to create a new long-term market for local gas producers and royalty owners.
Panda Power Funds president and senior partner Todd Carter said: "Panda Power Funds is making a strong financial commitment to the people of Pennsylvania because Governor Corbett and many other elected officials, including Senator Yaw and Representative Everett, made a previous commitment to carefully develop Pennsylvania’s vast supply of natural gas."
Image: Panda Power Funds’ 829MW Patriot generating station. Photo: courtesy of Business Wire.
