A proposed natural gas-fired power plant for Middletown will represent an investment of more than $500 million and bring more than 400 jobs to Butler County.
St. Augustine, Fla.-based NTE Energy announced Tuesday that it plans to develop, own and operate what it's calling "one of the most efficient natural gas-fired power plants in the United States." The facility, to be called the Middletown Energy Center, will generate enough power to supply approximately 400,000 homes.
The center will utilize a Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas advanced combustion turbine that captures exhaust heat and utilizes it in a steam cycle, allowing the facility to generate approximately 500 megawatts of low-cost electric power.
This next generation electric generating technology, fueled by clean burning natural gas, allows for greater operating efficiencies and results in up to 60 percent less emissions than that of older, more conventional sources of base load power.
"As the energy landscape continues to change, the need for affordable, cleaner base load generation is upon us," said Seth Shortlidge, President of NTE Energy. "NTE Energy looks forward to working with the Middletown community in developing one of the cleanest, most efficient, and most reliable sources to fulfill this growing demand."
During the construction phase, the center is expected to create approximately 300 to 400 construction industry jobs, the bulk of which are expected to be filled by the members of skilled trades unions. Once completed, the project is slated to add approximately 25 to 30 full-time jobs to the Middletown area, most of which are expected to come from the local workforce.
The center has begun permit applications and entered the PJM interconnection queue, the regional transmission organization. The project is expected to begin construction in 2015 and become fully operational in 2018.
NTE Energy develops and acquires strategically located electric generation and transmission facilities within North America. NTE is actively developing three projects located in southwest Ohio, West Texas and North Carolina as well as pursuing early-stage opportunities in several other locations.
