Ohio Approves 1,105 MW NatGas-Fired Plant

Ohio Approves 1,105 MW NatGas-Fired Plant

The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) has authorized a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Advanced Power AG to construct a 1,105 MW natural gas-fired power plant in Northeast Ohio's rural Columbiana County.

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South Field Energy LLC announced plans for the combined-cycle facility last year (see Daily GPI, Oct. 12, 2015). The OPSB said the plant would be located on a 150-acre parcel in Yellow Creek Township. A new 3.9-mile, 345 kilovolt transmission line and electric switchyard would deliver power to the regional grid.

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South Field plans to begin construction in January and expects the facility to be in-service by 2020. The facility would use Utica Shale gas. Columbiana County was a hotbed for Utica activity in the early days of the play before operators began focusing more heavily on the southeast part of the state, but it remains a top producing county where 133 horizontal permits have been issued to date, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

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The facility, which is expected to cost $1.1 billion, would complement another that Advanced is constructing to the south in nearby Carroll County. Construction started on the 700 MW natural gas-fired Carroll County Energy plant last year (see Daily GPI, July 23, 2015). At a cost of $899 million, that facility is expected to be in-service next year.

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The OPSB, which is part of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, has approved more than 5,000 MW of natural gas-fired power in the last five years (see Daily GPI, May 13).

Advanced has 7,000 MW of power generation that's either under development, under construction or in operation in the United States or overseas.