Guernsey Power Station is a gas-fired power plant located in Guernsey County, Ohio south of Byesville in the heart of the Utica and Marcellus shale region. It generates 1.875 GW of power, the 69th largest power station in the United States. The plant cost $1.7 billion to build.
The electric generating facility will sell energy and capacity into the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection (PJM) market. PJM is the regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in 13 states, including Ohio.
The facility uses three of General Electric’s advanced gas turbines, each with a heat recovery steam generator and steam turbine generator and will produce electricity equivalent to the power needs of approximately 1.4 million homes within the PJM region.
History
Regulatory filings were originally submitted in 2016 to take advantage of decreasing natural gas costs, but construction was delayed until 3rd quarter 2019.[1][2] The power plant sits atop a former coal mine, and was selected in part due to its proximity to the Rockies Express East natural gas pipeline running from Ohio to Missouri.[3][4]
Construction is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs. Taxes paid during construction will also pay for new buildings at Meadowbrook High School.[5] In June 2020, local union construction workers protested the use of out-of-state non-union workers on the project instead of the completely local workforce promised. A company spokesperson denied the allegations.[6]
After construction is complete, the plant is expected to provide about 30 full-time jobs, according to a local newspaper's interview with a Caithness Energy official.[7]
While the first unit was scheduled to go online in September 2022, initial start up activity was still underway as of December 2022.[8][9]
Operation
GPS will receive its natural gas from the Utica and Marcellus shale formations in eastern Ohio.[3]
Power will be generated by three advanced combined-cycle GE 7HA.02 gas turbines.[10] Water for operation will be provided by Byesville which will then process the wastewater.[3]
Gallery
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North Entrance via Seneca Lane, Guernsey County, Ohio
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Guernsey has 3 tandem natural gas-fired generation units, NW view
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Guernsey's Unit #1 turbine, exhaust and generation enclosures, West side view
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Guernsey's open air cooling towers, West side view
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Guernsey's power grid tie-in, SW view
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Located adjacent to Interstate-77, photo from I-77 NB mile marker 39 Rest Stop
References