BRANDYWINE, MD-Infrastructure investment is often lauded not only for the utilities and transportation needs it fills, but also for the oomph such projects deliver to the local economy. The commercial and residential communities in this part of Maryland will see this business case on full display as Panda Power Funds goes forward with its plan to build an 859-megawatt combined-cycle power plant in an industrial-zoned area here. The natural gas-fueled generating station is expected to supply the power needs of approximately 859,000 homes in the Greater Maryland / Washington D.C. metropolitan area when all is said and done.

In addition, the facility is expected to contribute approximately $1.2 billion to the area's economy during construction and the plant's first 10 years of operation. Gwen S. McCall, president and chief executive officer of the Prince George's County Economic Development Corp., notes the power plant will "expand the tax base, enlarge payrolls and drive revenues for contractors, suppliers, engineering firms, hotels, restaurants, retailers and a host of other businesses. The plant will create an estimated 700-800 union construction jobs, 25 direct jobs to run the facility and 32 indirect jobs to support it," he says in a prepared statement.

The Panda Mattawoman plant will be located between Air Force road and the CSX rail line off Brandywine Road. Construction will take approximately 30 months and is dependent upon financing, regulatory approvals and other conditions.

Panda Power Funds is a private equity firm in Dallas, Texas, with a number of power projects underway around the country. It has a combined-cycle power plant being built in two phases in Temple, Texas and another under construction in Sherman, Texas. The company recently built a utility-scale, 20-megawatt solar farm in Pilesgrove, New Jersey--one of the largest solar farms in the northeast United States