Calpine is moving forward with the Garrison Energy Center and Dover is planning improvements to support the natural gas-fired power plant.
The new-generation natural gas plant has an estimated price tag of $309 million, although the company has not released a dollar figure.
The Dover City Council has authorized staff to spend up to $6 million on infrastructure improvements to support the power plant, according to City Manager Scott Koenig.
According to Koenig, improvements include water distribution system improvements, a new water tower, a sanitary sewer pump station, some gravity sanitary sewer, some force main improvements and some street and stormwater improvements. The improvements are expected to be financed from an upcoming bond issue.
Also a part of the financial package is a state grant for $2.5 million to help offset the cost of a gas line that would run to the property from the Cheswold area.
In his State of the State speech, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell said the Dover plant would aid efforts to produce more clean energy in the state.
The Dover Post reported last week that ground could be broken for the plant this spring. Calpine earlier estimated that the plant would go online by June 2015.
Texas based Calpine operates a regional headquarters in Wilmington.
Electrical demand for Dover’s city-owned electric utility is a little more than half of the peak capacity of the proposed plant. The plant site allows for a doubling of the 309 megawatt capacity, according to Calpine.
The feasibility of the plant got a boost from growing natural gas supplies in the region, as Marcellus Shale deposits are tapped in Pennsylvania. Natural gas prices, while historically volatile, have more recently become competitive with coal.
Drilling activity is slowing in Pennsylvania as energy companies wait for new pipelines and markets, according to an Associated Press story.
“The Garrison Energy Center would operate as a combined-cycle, natural gas-fired generating facility. The project has received strong support from state and local officials.
