Huge Natural Gas Power Plant Coming to Fayette County

A massive, $13 billion power plant complex will be built along the Monongahela River in Fayette County, the developer recently announced.

NextEra Energy Resources announced the location for the complex on 700 acres in Luzerne Township that will include three combined-cycle natural gas plants that will each produce 1.25 gigawatts of electricity. The power will be fed into the regional grid operated by PJM Interconnection through existing transmission lines. It will be built in three phases between 2030 and 2032, according to published reports.

The project will be known as the East Riverside Energy Center and it will create approximately  2,000 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs, Fayette County Commissioner Scott Dunn said in a LinkedIn post. Dunn said it will be largest project in Fayette County history.

A large natural gas power plant project in Southwestern Pennsylvania was announced in March as part of a $550 billion joint strategic trade and investment agreement with Japan. The facility, called Project Mon South, was one of three large energy projects. Other projects announced include a $16 billion natural gas generation plant in Texas, and up to $40 billion from GE Vernova Hitachi to build small modular nuclear reactor power plants in Tennessee and Alabama.

NextEra will build and operate the plant, which will be owned by the U.S. and Japanese governments. Dunn’s post said the project is fully funded through the trade deal and local residents’ electric bills will not rise due to its construction. He also said that no local tax deferments will be given to the developer and it will pay taxes.

NextEra has purchase options on the 700 acres but must still go through the local permitting process and obtain state and PJM Interconnection approvals before construction can begin.

The electricity the plant will adds to the grid will be used to power an off-site, as-yet-undetermined large-load industrial user, company officials said at a recent open house. The new generation is badly needed in the Mid-Atlantic grid overseen by PJM, as electric demand is rapidly rising, primarily due to the expansion of data centers. At the same time, PJM has been struggling to bring new power sources online quickly and modernize infrastructure.

Prices for wholesale power have surged and PJM has fallen short of the reserves to meet its reliability requirement. This has resulted in rising residential utility bills and calls from regulators and government officials for change.