Cooperative proposes 1,000 megawatt gas-fired plant in Cecil County

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Rock Springs power plant
Rock Springs power plant

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative  has proposed a large  natural gas-fired electric generation plant  in Cecil County, Md. Old Dominion is the wholesale power cooperative for Delaware Electric Cooperative, Greenwood.

Known as the Wildcat Point Generation Facility, the plant would be built five miles west of Rising Sun  at the Rock Springs Generation Facility, which Old Dominion constructed and put into operation in 2003. Rock Springs generates power during periods of peak demand. Rising Sun is about 20 miles west of Newark, Del.

The plant, would add nearly  600 temporary construction jobs and roughly 30 permanent jobs. Wildcat Point is slated to go online  in 2017 and generate 1,000 megawatts of power.

The plant would supply 390,000 homes annually, a figure that amounts to more than 90 percent of the total number of housing units in the state of Delaware. No estimate was released on the cost of the plant, but based on costs of other plants, the price tag would run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The plant comes as gas supplies skyrocket in the region, with development of Marcellus Shale deposits in Pennsylvania. Also, coal-fired power plants are being retired and natural gas prices have become  competitive with coal.

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Power plant developer Calpine has started work on another large generating plant in Dover, Del. The Dover plant is about two-thirds smaller than the proposed Rising Sun generating site.

“Even after factoring in our members’ well-established load control and energy-efficiency programs, demand for electricity in ODEC-served areas continues to grow,” said Jackson E. Reasor, Jr., CEO of Old Dominion. “Constructing a state-of-the art, environmentally sound facility will ensure our members have access to reliable, affordable and locally produced power far in to the future. It will also create jobs and a steady source of new revenue for Cecil County. We are proud to have a ten year track record of safe, responsible power production in Cecil County and look forward to working with the County and the State of Maryland during their review of our proposal.”

“ODEC has been a good neighbor in Cecil County for more than a decade,” said Cecil County Executive Tari Moore. “I’m pleased to have an opportunity to extend a partnership that provides clean energy for ODEC’s customers, and a significant number of jobs for our community.”

ODEC is a not-for-profit provider of wholesale power to 11 member distribution cooperatives in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. Members include Delaware Electric Cooperative, Greenwood.

ODEC serves approximately 1.2 million people. Over the past ten years ODEC has experienced growth in electricity sales of over 26 percent and additional growth is projected over the next decade.

Old Dominion said the plant would reduce the cooperative’s reliance on power purchased from other sources that can become expensive in peak periods. Also, Maryland already imports 42 percent of its power, making it the fifth largest energy importer in the U.S. Two-thirds of the power generated in Maryland comes from power plants that are at least 30 years old.

Old Dominion member Choptank Electric Cooperative serves more than 52,000 members on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, including nearly 3,000 in Cecil County. Old Dominion is currently working with the Cecil County government on the proposed project.

 

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