Houston Industries and the San Diego based company Enova Corp. have announced plans to build a 480 MW power plant in Boulder City, Nevada. The two companies will also operate the $280 million power station.
The El Dorado Energy project will employ combined cycle technology. Construction of the project will begin during the first quarter of this year. The site is close to several gas pipelines and the company hopes to be able to secure a competitively priced fuel. It is also close to power transmission lines.
The Boulder City project will begin generating electricity in the third quarter of 1999, when it will operate as a merchant facility, selling power into the wholesale market for electricity serving the western USA. Some utilities in this region import more than half their power, a proportion that is expected to increase as deregulation creates greater competition.