The proposed plant would be situated on the South Carolina border near Interstate 85. The company intends to operate a 1,080MW natural gas and oil burnt power plant in Cleveland County.
Robert Schaffeld, design general manager for the company, informed the commission that Southern Power presently operates power plants in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, in addition to a plant near Salisbury.
Schaffeld said that the facility would use natural gas supplied by the local gas distribution company, Public Service Co. The proposed site, bordering the southern side of Interstate 85, is around 283 acres owned by Southern Power, and the plant would occupy around 80 acres.
Schaffeld continued that Southern Power under two phases intends to build six dual-fuel combustion turbines. The first four turbines are expected to be operational by January 2012, and the rest two by the end of 2013. The life of the plant is projected to be 35 years.
The power generated would be sold to other power distribution companies and to major industrial users. The estimated cost to build the first phase of the power plant is $400m.
Steve Higginbottom, a spokesman for the company, said that the construction of plant would generate around 300 jobs.
