Touted as one of the most efficient power plants in the country, the Lackawanna Energy Center came online this week, turning locally produced, clean natural gas into reliable electricity for more than one million homes.
The 1,480-megawatt facility in Lackawanna County uses state-of-the-art combined-cycle technology that makes the plant highly efficient and environmentally friendly, Invenergy’s Vice President Dan Ewan told reporters.
The new facility is part of the more than $13 billion in private capital that is being invested in Pennsylvania to construct new, clean and efficient combined-cycle natural gas power plants.
During the three-year construction phase, thousands of union workers were on-site to build the plant and more than two-dozen employees will run the facility, with the majority hired locally.
“From within an hour of the area, over the last three years, there were thousands of jobs created that were high-paying union jobs to put this project together.” Jessup Mayor – Joseph Buckshon (WOLF)
Throughout the plant’s 40-year expected life producing clean, reliable electricity, it’s expected to generate more than $50 million in tax revenue for Jessup. Along with the new construction and full-time jobs created, local leaders are hopeful the new plant can attract manufacturers to the area to take advantage of the energy savings:
“It’s a win-win for our area. All different kinds of manufacturing usually come into the area because the host electricity rates go down.” State Representative Marty Flynn (WOLF)
State government data shows that Pennsylvania households enjoy average home energy savings of $1,100 to $2,200 annually while wholesale electric prices are down 41% since 2008 thanks to the production and increasing use of local natural gas in power generation.
