Dominion Resources, Consolidated Natural Gas
Announce Energy Investment in Armstrong County
ARMSTRONG COUNTY, Pa. – Dominion Resources Inc. and Consolidated
Natural Gas Company announced today that subsidiaries of the two companies plan
to construct and operate a natural gas-fired electric generating facility at
an industrial site in Armstrong County, about 4 miles south of Elderton, Pennsylvania.
The companies expect to begin engineering and permitting
activities immediately. They expect to bring the facility into commercial operation
by mid-2002 in order to meet summertime peak demand for electricity. The companies
are still determining the size of the facility, but it is expected to be in
the range of 300 to 600 megawatts. It could represent an investment from approximately
$100 million to $200 million in Armstrong County.
In a joint statement, E. Wayne Harrell, senior vice president
of Dominion Generation, Dominion Resources’ generating subsidiary, and Thomas
E. Dodd, vice president of CNG, said:
"We are fortunate to have an excellent site and the needed
financial and technical resources to bring into operation a generating asset
of genuine regional value. By constructing this facility, we will address the
developing need for additional electric peaking power in the region. In addition,
this facility will help Armstrong County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
advance their economic development agendas.
"We intend to accomplish this as a good new corporate neighbor
sensitive to and compliant with federal, state and local environmental needs
and regulations, and we’ll be working with local officials to finalize project
details. Both CNG and Dominion Resources have strong histories of environmental
stewardship and community involvement. We will consult closely with the community
as we bring this exciting new development into reality."
The site identified for the planned facility incorporates
approximately 50 acres across state Route156 from CNG’s South Bend Compressor
Station. The site is owned by CNG Transmission Corp., the pipeline and storage
subsidiary of CNG.
Permitting will occur at the local, state and federal levels.
Construction is expected to begin in 2001 and be completed in mid-2002.
The project will use two General Electric gas-fired generating
turbines. These machines have a unique combination of efficiency and environmental
performance. Environmental impact of the facility is expected to be minimal.
Armstrong County Commission Chairman James Scahill said:
"CNG and Dominion Resources share a strong commitment to
the communities in which they operate and have exhibited their responsible environmental
stewardship with projects of this nature in the past. We welcome this economic
shot in the arm to Armstrong County, and we plan to work constructively with
the companies during the permitting and construction phases of the project."
Dominion Resources and Consolidated Natural Gas Company,
which are merging, plan to develop the Armstrong County site as part of a broader
exclusive alliance agreement to develop gas-fired facilities near existing CNG
pipelines at appropriate sites. It is part of their business strategy to focus
their energy development resources in the Midwest-to-Northeast quadrant of the
United States, home to 40 percent of the nation’s demand for energy.
The companies also announced plans for similar facilities
in Ohio and West Virginia.
Dominion Resources, headquartered in Richmond, Va., is an
$18 billion holding company principally engaged in regulated and competitive
electric power and natural gas, domestically and internationally. Consolidated
Natural Gas is one of the nation’s largest producers, transporters, distributors
and retail marketers of natural gas.
