PCCA Journal 3rd Quarter 2013 - page 44

PCCA Journal|3
rd
Quarter 2013
44
News Briefs
Continued from page 43
Panda Power Funds Finances
829-MW Pennsylvania Power Project
P
anda Power Funds announced on August 22 that it
has completed the acquisition and successful financ-
ing of Moxie Energy’s planned 829-MW natural
gas-fueled, combined-cycle “Liberty” generating station,
located in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. When completed,
the Liberty project will be the first new power plant in the
state specifically developed to take advantage of its proximity
to the Marcellus Shale gas formation. Panda will immediately
start construction on the 33-acre site and expects commercial
operations to begin by early 2016.
The Panda Liberty project has been strategically sited in
the PJM Interconnection, which is considered one of the
most attractive and liquid markets for power generators in
the United States. Equally important, approximately 20,000
megawatts of coal-fired capacity retirements have been
announced in PJM, setting the stage for tightening reserve
margins. Declining economics and increasing environmental
costs are expected to drive additional coal-fired retirements.
The Liberty plant will utilize Siemens H-class gas turbines.
The two single shaft power trains will make the Liberty
plant one of the cleanest, most efficient natural gas-fueled
power plants in the United States. The plant will be cooled
with air rather than water, thus will not draw water from, or
discharge water into, the Susquehanna River—eliminating
potential impacts to species in the Susquehanna watershed.
Special blade designs, low-output motors, and building enclo-
sures will be used to minimize sound.
The generating station will be located in Asylum Town-
ship, approximately 45 miles northwest of Scranton. When
completed, it will be able to supply the power needs of up to
1 million homes.
PSE&G Offers Plan to
Make New Jersey Energy Strong
P
SE&G says that support is growing for its “Energy
Strong” proposal, a plan to harden New Jersey’s
energy infrastructure in the face of progressively
extreme weather. Fifty-four towns and five counties have
adopted resolutions supporting the plan, and the utility said
that there is also increasingly broad support among industry,
labor, business groups, hospitals, and senior communities.
PSE&G developed its Energy Strong plan in the wake of
Superstorm Sandy, a historic weather event that caused
unprecedented damage and disruption to essential services in
New Jersey. The plan would invest $3.9 billion over 10 years
to protect switching and substations from water damage,
reinforce utility poles and overhead wires, deploy smart grid
technology to reduce the likelihood and duration of outages,
and replace gas lines in flood-prone areas.
“While an analysis by the Associated Press showed that
power was restored more quickly in New Jersey than in sur-
rounding states, the fact is that more than 1.9 million of our
customers lost power during Sandy—some for as long as two
weeks—as waterlogged systems were repaired and replaced,”
said Ralph LaRossa, PSE&G president and chief operating
officer. “With Sandy, Irene, and the 2011 October snowstorm,
we had three of the most damaging storms in our company’s
history in quick succession. It was clear that we needed to do
something extraordinary.”
More than 7,300 people have added their names to the list
of Energy Strong supporters, asking for information and up-
dates on the proposal, which requires approval from the New
Jersey Board of Public Utilities. And a recent PSE&G custom-
er survey showed that more than 70 percent of its customers
support the proposal.
FTTH Council Calls for “Gigabit
Communities Race to the Top”
Program
T
he Fiber to the Home Council Americas in June
challenged the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to establish a Gigabit Communities Race to
the Top program, which the group said “would demonstrate
new models for communications investment and jumpstart
the development of ultra-high speed applications so critical
to economic growth and social interaction.” Modeled on the
Obama administration’s Race to the Top education initiative,
the FTTH Council petition sets forth a competitive program
of matching grants of up to $10 million for projects in Tier II
and Tier III markets where communities working with service
providers develop innovative proposals for bringing symmet-
ric gigabit connections to community anchor institutions and
their neighboring communities.
The FCC recently voted to modernize its E-Rate program
by supporting proposals to bring ultra-high speed broadband
into the nation’s “bandwidth-strapped schools and libraries.”
The council said, “The Gigabit Communities Race to the Top
program is a logical complement to this effort, empower-
ing communities outside major markets to bring ultra-high
speeds to vital community institutions and their surrounding
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