Mitsubishi Corporation and Tenaska to develop 925 MW gas-fired plant in Pennsylvania

Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) has recently reached an agreement with US-based independent energy company, Tenaska, to develop, own and operate a natural gas-fired power generation project in Pennsylvania in the USA. Working through its 100% subsidiary Diamond Generating Corporation (DGC), MC will hold a 50% equity share in the project while Tenaska, the developers, will hold the remaining 50%.

The project involves the construction and operation of a 925 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Westmoreland County in Pennsylvania, about 60 kilometers southeast of Pittsburg. The plant will supply electricity to the PJM market, the largest electricity market in the USA, and is scheduled to commence commercial operations in 2019. The project will use two Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems’ gas turbines.

This project is DGC’s second in the USA Northeast following the start of construction at its natural gas-fired power plant being built in the state of New York.

The construction of natural gas-fired power plants has gained momentum in the USA, particularly in the Northeast, due to enhanced environmental regulations and increasing shale gas supply, which has also sped up moves to replace old coal-fired power plants with natural gas-fired ones.