Panda Power Funds agreed to jointly develop a 1,000-Mw Pennsylvania power project that will use natural gas from the Marcellus shale, the Dallas private equity firm announced.
A retired coal-fired power plant is to be replaced in what organizers are calling a major US coal-to-gas conversion project. The converted gas plant will help support a long-term market for Pennsylvania Marcellus shale gas, benefitting regional producers and royalty owners.
Sunbury Generation LP and Panda Power plan to finance, construct, and operate a 1,000-Mw combined-cycle power project near Shamokin Dam in Snyder County, Pa.
The Panda Hummel Station will occupy an 18-acre parcel of the 192-acre Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone where the Sunbury coal-fired power plant now stands.
The gas-fired plant is expected to supply Philadelphia and New York City when it starts operating during the second half of 2017. The plant has access to Marcellus gas through the Marc I, Regency, and Transcontinental regional gas pipelines.
Hummel Station will connect with interstate pipelines through a 35-mile lateral to be constructed by a subsidiary of UGI Energy Services. In December 2014, UGI started the permitting process for the pipeline with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Todd W. Carter, president and senior partner of Panda Power Funds, said, "We continue to see Pennsylvania as a great place to invest and are strengthening our roots here by partnering with well-established companies in the commonwealth."
Panda Power Funds has two Marcellus gas-fueled generating stations currently under construction in Bradford and Lycoming counties. The 829-Mw Liberty power plant in Towanda, Pa., is expected to enter commercial operations in the first quarter of 2016. The 829-Mw Patriot near Williamsport, Pa., is expected to enter commercial operations in the second quarter of 2016.