South Field Energy, a subsidiary of Advanced Power, is constructing a 1,182MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant approximately 50km north-west of Pittsburgh, in Yellow Creek Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, US.

Advanced Power is a privately-owned company based in Boston, that jointly owns the project with a group of investors including Kyushu Electric Power, NH-Amundi Asset Management and PIA Investment Management, RS Global Capital Investment (a joint venture between Development Bank of Japan and Showa Shell Sekiyu), Shikoku Electric Power and a Bechtel Development affiliate.

Construction of the South Field Energy facility started after Advanced Power secured $1.3bn finance for the project in August 2018.

The facility is scheduled to commence operation in June 2021, and is expected to generate enough electricity to power approximately one million US homes.

The project is expected to create roughly 1,000 jobs during peak construction and up to 30 permanent jobs during the operational phase.

South Field Energy facility development details

South Field Energy facility is one of the two projects undertaken by Advanced Power in Ohio. The other project is the Carroll County Energy project, a 700MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant, which was brought into operation in January 2018.

The two projects will help substitute the aging coal-fired plants in Ohio.

The Ohio Power Siting Board approved the South field Energy project in September 2016.

South Field Energy facility make-up

Being developed in a 20-acre site near Wellsville, Ohio, the South Field Energy facility will be equipped with two 7HA.02 GE gas turbines, each paired with a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), a steam turbine generator, and two mechanical draft wet cooling towers.

The plant will use natural gas as the primary fuel and ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) as secondary fuel.

Designed to operate at 60Hz frequency, each gas turbine of the plant will offer 61% combined-cycle efficiency and generate up to 337MW of low-carbon electricity.

Gas supply for South Field Energy facility

The facility will be supplied with natural gas from TL-400 (Dominion South Point Gas) interstate gas pipeline.

Electricity transmission from South Field Energy facility

The electricity generated from the South Field Energy facility will be interconnected with the existing FirstEnergy 345kV transmission circuit by means of a 3mi-long 345kV electric transmission line.

South Field Energy had filed an application for the interconnection facility to the Ohio Power Siting Board in January 2016 and the same was approved in March 2016.

The interconnected transmission infrastructure will be owned by American Transmission Systems Incorporated (ATSI).

Advanced Power will sell the electricity generated from the South Field Energy facility to PJM Interconnection, an independent regional transmission organisation.

South Field Energy, ATSI and PJM Interconnection entered a service agreement for the interconnection construction in January 2018.

Financing for the South Field Energy facility

Advanced Power announced a finance arrangement worth $1.3bn for building the South Field Energy facility in August 2018.

The project finance comprises senior secured credit and other credit facilities from Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, CIT Group, GE Energy Financial Services, NH Investment & Securities and ten other commercial banks.

Contractors involved with the South Field Energy project

Bechtel was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the combined-cycle power plant, in September 2018.

GE was selected to provide the gas turbines, HRSGs and steam turbine generators in the same month.

South Field Asset Management Services, an affiliate of Advanced Power, will manage the construction and operations of the South Field Energy facility.