Competitive Power Ventures (CPV), GE and Osaka Gas have broken ground on their 1,050MW gas-fired power plant to be developed with an investment of $700m in Cambria County, Pennsylvania.

The combined-cycle electric generating station known as CPV Fairview Energy Center is located 96.5km east of Pittsburgh in Johnstown. It will be fueled by a mix of natural gas and ethane.

Slated to start commercial operations in early 2020, the power plant will generate enough power to cover over a million homes and businesses in the PJM market.

CPV Fairview will feature  7HA.02 gas turbines, a steam turbine, generators and additional controls equipment, all supplied by GE.

CPV president & CEO Gary Lambert said: “The CPV Fairview Energy Center will help modernize the grid and improve electric reliability while reducing our environmental footprint and creating significant economic development in the region.

"We are grateful for our strong partnership with GE and Osaka Gas, as well as the support we have seen from state and local officials notably that of Jackson Township who has welcomed us with open arms into the community."

Construction of the power plant is expected to take 30 months and its peak phase is expected to create 300-500 jobs. About two dozen full-time jobs will be created to handle the operations of the CPV Fairview Energy Center.

The gas-fired power project has the backing of Jackson Township and is anticipated to bring in considerable local and regional benefits. These include hundreds of millions of dollars in the form of private infrastructure investment, substantial revenue for Pennsylvania in sales tax during construction and new revenues for local governments and businesses.

Osaka Gas USA chairman Eiichi Inamura said: “Osaka Gas is proud to partner with CPV and GE Energy Financial Services on this important project that will bring reliability to the grid while reducing our impact on the environment.”