Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) has begun commercial operations at the 725MW natural gas-fired plant in Charles County, Maryland, US. The plant is owned by CPV, Marubeni, Toyota Tsusho and Osaka Gas USA, and is located 25 miles southeast of Washington, DC.
Named as the CPV St. Charles Energy Center, which is a bit of a mouthful, the power plant cost $775m and took 33 months to construct and test, which CPV says was ahead of schedule and within budget.
The combined-cycle natural gas-fired plant features two GE 7F.05 gas turbines and line and a GE D402 steam turbine.
Operated by EthosEnergy Power Plant Services, the plant will help address constraints in the local Pennsylvania, Jersey, Maryland (PJM) market.
CPV president and CEO Gary Lambert said: “The CPV St. Charles Energy Center improves the regional electric grid reliability with new, efficient, reliable, responsive power, while using recycled water for cooling maximizing water resource utilization and providing a new, potent economic driver for the region.”
Marubeni Overseas Power Project Dept.-III general manager Hiromichi Mizuno said: "Marubeni is proud to help Maryland shift to a greener mix of power resources, and expects the St. Charles project to provide ongoing benefits to the community in the form of jobs, economic activity and grid reliability.”
According to CPV, the project is among the top cost competitive power projects in the PJM region owing to the site’s proximity to the Dominion Cove Point natural gas pipeline and PEPCO 230 kV transmission lines. Apart from that it also benefits from a reliable supply of water for cooling.