Officials in Pennsylvania have announced the redevelopment of a former coal-fired power plant site into a $10-billion-plus data center campus that will be powered by natural gas, in what they call the largest capital investment project in that state’s history.
Homer City Redevelopment (HCR) and Kiewit Power Constructors on April 2 said the former Homer City Generating Station, which was the largest coal-fired power plant in the state, now will be home to a natural gas-fired facility with as much as 4.5 GW of power generation, which would be the largest gas-fired power station in the U.S. Officials said the Homer City Energy Campus will cover about 3,200 acres, with construction at the site expected to start this year.
Seven GE Vernova 7HA.02 hydrogen-enabled, gas-fired turbines will power the campus. The first equipment deliveries are expected next year. The 4.5-GW facility, once operational, would be the largest natural gas-fired power plant in the U.S., topping the 3.777-GW West County Energy Center in Palm Beach County, Florida.
The Homer City coal plant was known both for being a major polluter and for its smokestacks, with the Unit 3 stack at 1,217 feet tall considered the tallest in the U.S.
More than half of Pennsylvania’s electricity is generated by natural gas-fired power plants, with more than three dozen operating in the state. Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the U.S., behind only Texas.