Guernsey Power Station

Guernsey Power Station is a gas-fired power plant located in Guernsey County, Ohio south of Byesville in the heart of the Utica and Marcellus shale region. It generates 1.875 GW of power, enough to power 1.5 million homes. It's the 69th largest power station in the United States. The plant cost $1.7 billion to build.

Guernsey Power Station
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationValley Township, Ohio
Coordinates39°56′15″N 81°32′06.1″W / 39.93750°N 81.535028°W / 39.93750; -81.535028
StatusOpen
Construction began2019
Owner(s)Caithness Energy
Apex Power Group
Employees30 - planned
Combined cycle?Yes
Power generation
Make and modelGE 7HA.02 Gas Turbine
Units planned3 x 600 MW
External links
Websitehttps://guernseypowerstation.com/

The electric generating facility will sell energy and capacity into the PJM market. PJM is the regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in 13 states, including Ohio.

The facility uses three of General Electric’s advanced gas turbines, each with a heat recovery steam generator and steam turbine generator and will produce electricity equivalent to the power needs of approximately 1.4 million homes within the PJM region.

History edit

Regulatory filings were originally submitted in 2016 to take advantage of decreasing natural gas costs, but construction was delayed until 3rd quarter 2019.[1][2] The power plant sits atop a former coal mine, and was selected in part due to its proximity to the Rockies Express East natural gas pipeline running from Ohio to Missouri.[3][4]

Construction is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs. Taxes paid during construction will also pay for new buildings at Meadowbrook High School.[5] In June 2020, local union construction workers protested the use of out-of-state non-union workers on the project instead of the completely local workforce promised. A company spokesperson denied the allegations.[6]

After construction is complete, the plant is expected to provide about 30 full-time jobs, according to a local newspaper's interview with a Caithness Energy official.[7]

While the first unit was scheduled to go online in September 2022, initial start up activity was still underway as of December 2022.[8][9]

Operation edit

GPS will receive its natural gas from the Utica and Marcellus shale formations in eastern Ohio.[3]

Power will be generated by three advanced combined-cycle GE 7HA.02 gas turbines.[10] Water for operation will be provided by Byesville which will then process the wastewater.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ "ECONOMIC BENEFITS/COMMUNITY". guernseypowerstation.org. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  2. ^ Cocklin, James (2019-09-04). "Massive Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant Moving Forward in Ohio". Natural Gas Intelligence. Archived from the original on 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  3. ^ a b c "Guernsey Power Station, Guernsey County, Ohio, USA". nsenergybuisness.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  4. ^ Grant, Julie (2020-12-28). "An Ohio couple eyed retirement and their racehorses. Then a natural gas power plant moved in, and it all changed". StateImpact Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  5. ^ "$1.6B financing obtained for Guernsey Power Station". The Daily Jeffersonian. 2019-08-30. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  6. ^ GARABRANDT, KRISTI R. (2020-05-01). "'We got plenty of local help': Local laborers protest out-of-state workers at power plant". The Daily Jeffersonian. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  7. ^ "Guernsey Power Station slated to be fully operational in December 2022".
  8. ^ "Electric Power Monthly - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". www.eia.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  9. ^ "December 13, 2022 – Notice of Upcoming Start Up Activity – Guernsey Power Station". Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  10. ^ "Caithness Energy Orders GE's HA Gas Turbines for Guernsey Power Station in Ohio". 2019-09-09. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-01-26.