Dallas-based Panda Energy International announced plans to builda 1,000 MW generation plant in Coweta, OK, near Tulsa. The plant’smaximum daily quantity for gas consumption will be about 170,000MMBtu/d. Gas supply and transportation agreements are expected tobe finalized in the next several months.

The 77-acre site is near an existing Public Service Company ofOklahoma substation that will be used to carry the new plant’senergy to markets throughout the eastern U.S. grid.

The project is the latest is a series of new initiativesannounced by Panda, which will bring about 10,000 MW of generatingcapacity on line within the next few years, said Darol Lindloff,president of Panda Energy. Construction is scheduled to begin inJune 2000, and commercial operations are expected to start inDecember 2001.

Steve McAdams, Panda’s director of business development, saidthe plant will feature the most advanced gas-fired combustionturbine generation technology. “The new generation power plantsbeing designed and built by Panda are approximately 40% moreefficient than the typical plants currently serving Oklahoma. Inaddition, emissions will be less than 10% of the average forexisting power plants providing service to the area.”

Last week, it was announced in Odessa, TX that a similar plantis being developed by Texas Independent Energy, a joint venture ofPanda and PSEG Global. Projects near San Antonio and Wichita Falls,TX, also are part of the joint venture. Panda has similar plants inoperation in North Carolina and Maryland and recently announced a2,000 MW plant in El Dorado, AR.

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