The Hickory Run Energy Center is a 1GW gas-fired combined-cycle power generation facility located in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, US.
Construction on the project was started in August 2017, while the plant commenced commercial operations in May 2020.
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The Hickory Run gas-fired power plant is owned and operated by Hickory Run Holdings, a joint venture of Japan-based Itochu Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiary Tyr Energy (50%), Kansai Electric Power (30%), and Siemens Financial Services (20%).
The Hickory Run power project was originally undertaken by an affiliate of New Jersey-based LS Power Associates. Tyr Energy acquired the project in June 2016.
Approximately 500 fulltime jobs were created during the construction phase of the project and the 1GW combined-cycle facility is expected to generate enough electricity to power approximately one million US households.
Location and site details
The Hickory Run Energy Center power project is located in the North Beaver Township, Lawrence County, approximately 45 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, US.
Plant make-up
The Hickory Run combined-cycle power station comprises two SGT6 8000H gas turbines, two heat recovery steam generators (HRSG), and one 358MW SST-5000 steam turbine from Siemens.
The air-cooled SGT6 8000H gas turbines have a rated power output of 310MW in simple-cycle operation are designed to operate at 60Hz frequency. The efficiency of the turbine in combined-cycle operation is 61%.
The plant is equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for the control of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, and an oxidation catalyst for the reduction of carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions.
Power evacuation and purchase agreement
The electricity generated by the combined-cycle power station is evacuated into the grid through a connection with the Hoytdale-Shenango 345kV transmission line.
PJM Interconnection, Hickory Run Energy, and American Transmission Systems signed an interconnection service agreement for the Hickory Run power project in May 2017.
The power output of the Hickory Run facility is sold to the PJM Interconnection wholesale electricity market.
Hickory Run Energy Center project financing
Itochu Corporation, Kansai Electric Power, and Siemens Group provided equity investment for the project, while the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) provided a senior credit of £411.25mn ($530mn) in August 2017.
The other lenders for the project included BNP Paribas Securities Corporation, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, ABN AMRO, National Australia Bank, and the Shinhan Bank.
Contractors involved
Kiewit Power Constructors Company (Kiewit) was awarded the engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) contract combined-cycle power facility in 2017.
Siemens was contracted to supply the key components of the plant including the turbines and generators in November 2017. The scope of the contract also included a long-term service agreement including advanced remote monitoring and diagnostics services for the combined-cycle facility.
NAES Corporation, an affiliate to Tyr Energy, has been engaged for the operation and maintenance (O&M) services for the project.
Veolia Water Technologies was contracted by Kiewit to provide engineering and procurement services for the raw and demineralised water treatment systems for the facility in December 2017.
