Tenaska Power Plant in Pennsylvania Begins Commercial Operation
The natural gas-fueled facility can generate 940 megawatts of electricity for the PJM market
SMITHTON, PA—Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station, a new natural gas-fueled power plant in southwest Pennsylvania, is operational.
Located near Smithton in South Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County, the 940-megawatt (MW) plant can generate enough power for about 940,000 homes in the PJM Interconnection market, which coordinates the delivery of reliable power in all or parts of 13 eastern states, including Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. Commercial operation of the plant began Friday, Dec. 21.
“Tenaska Westmoreland is a highly efficient generating facility that is well suited to meet the needs of the PJM market,” says Jerry Crouse, Tenaska CEO and vice chairman. “We are excited to have this plant join our operating fleet, and we look forward to Tenaska Westmoreland being a reliable power producer for decades to come.”
Tenaska Westmoreland is owned by Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners, which consists of affiliates of Tenaska, Diamond Generating Corporation and J-POWER USA Investment Co.
“DGC is pleased that this important, state-of-the-art project is now online and beginning to provide reliable electricity to the PJM market. This is a valuable generating asset for the region,” said Yuji Okafuji, DGC president.
“This facility is a good fit for our North American power generation business,” says Mark Condon, president and CEO of J-POWER USA. “We are pleased to see it achieve commercial operation in time for the winter season, when power demand tends to trend higher.”
Tenaska, an energy company based in Omaha, NE, is a developer and operator of generating facilities across the US. Tenaska Westmoreland is the 17th power project that the company has brought online. The current Tenaska operating fleet includes 11 natural gas-fueled and renewable power plants able to generate approximately 8,000 MW combined.
Construction of Tenaska Westmoreland began in 2016. Black & Veatch was the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project. Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems supplied the two natural gas-fueled turbines.
“The successful completion of this project is a direct result of collaboration and teamwork,” says Vasu Pinapati, Tenaska vice president of engineering and construction. “There were a number of internal Tenaska teams—from our engineering, environmental, operations and asset management personnel to our marketing affiliates, to name just a few—who have contributed to Tenaska Westmoreland. Further, our relationships with Black & Veatch, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Siemens, Nooter/Eriksen and our other contractors and their focused approach to project completion helped to ensure the plant would be operational in 2018.”
Construction, with direct costs of more than $500 million, created significant benefits for the regional economy. In addition to 650 jobs during peak construction, the project contracted with more than 100 regional businesses.
Tenaska Westmoreland is staffed by a team of 24 employees, 75 percent of whom came from Westmoreland or adjacent counties. The plant is anticipated to generate significant tax revenue over its lifetime and provide support for community programs.