Tenaska Power Plant in Pennsylvania Begins Commercial Operation

Natural Gas-fueled Facility Can Generate 940 Megawatts of Electricity for PJM Market

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Dec 21, 2018, 10:16 ET

SMITHTON, Pa., Dec. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station, a new natural gas-fueled power plant in southwest Pennsylvania, is operational.

Located near Smithton in South Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County, the 940-megawatt (MW) plant can generate enough power for about 940,000 homes in the PJM Interconnection market, which coordinates the delivery of reliable power in all or parts of 13 eastern states, including Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. Commercial operation of the plant began Friday, Dec. 21.

"Tenaska Westmoreland is a highly efficient generating facility that is well suited to meet the needs of the PJM market," said Tenaska CEO and Vice Chairman Jerry Crouse. "We are excited to have this plant join our operating fleet, and we look forward to Tenaska Westmoreland being a reliable power producer for decades to come."

Tenaska Westmoreland is owned by Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners, LLC, which is comprised of affiliates of Tenaska, Diamond Generating Corporation (DGC) and J-POWER USA Investment Co., Ltd.

"DGC is pleased that this important, state-of-the-art project is now online and beginning to provide reliable electricity to the PJM market. This is a valuable generating asset for the region," said DGC President Yuji Okafuji.

Mark Condon, president and CEO of J-POWER USA, said: "This facility is a good fit for our North American power generation business. We are pleased to see it achieve commercial operation in time for the winter season, when power demand tends to trend higher."

Tenaska, an energy company based in Omaha, Nebraska, is a respected developer and operator of generating facilities across the United States. Tenaska Westmoreland is the 17^th power project that the company has brought online. The current Tenaska operating fleet includes 11 natural gas-fueled and renewable power plants able to generate approximately 8,000 MW combined.

In addition to power generation, Tenaska and its affiliates are industry leaders in natural gas and electric power marketing. Tenaska Marketing Ventures is among the top five largest natural gas marketers in North America and is the top-ranked natural gas pipeline capacity trader. Tenaska Power Services Co. is the leading provider of energy management services to generation and demand-side customers in the U.S., with more third party-owned generation under management than any other provider. Both companies are providing services to Tenaska Westmoreland. Tenaska Operations, Inc. will operate the facility.

Construction of Tenaska Westmoreland began in 2016. Black & Veatch was the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the project. Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems supplied the two natural gas-fueled turbines.

"The successful completion of this project is a direct result of collaboration and teamwork," said Vasu Pinapati, Tenaska vice president of engineering and construction. "There were a number of internal Tenaska teams – from our engineering, environmental, operations and asset management personnel to our marketing affiliates, to name just a few – who have contributed to Tenaska Westmoreland. Further, our relationships with Black & Veatch, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Siemens, Nooter/Eriksen and our other contractors and their focused approach to project completion helped to ensure the plant would be operational in 2018."

Construction, with direct costs of more than $500 million, created significant benefits for the regional economy. In addition to 650 jobs during peak construction, the project contracted with more than 100 regional businesses.

Tenaska-operated facilities are known for being safe, reliable and efficient, as well as for being good business neighbors within the community. Tenaska Westmoreland is staffed by a team of 24 employees, 75 percent of which came from Westmoreland or adjacent counties. The plant is anticipated to generate significant tax revenue over its lifetime and provide support for community programs.

About Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners, LLC
Tenaska, an energy company based in Omaha, Nebraska, formed Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners, LLC (TPP) to build, own and operate the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station. Today, TPP is comprised of affiliates of Tenaska, Diamond Generating Corporation and J-POWER USA Investment, Co., Ltd. An affiliate of Tenaska serves as the managing partner.

About Tenaska
Tenaska, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is one of the leading independent energy companies in the United States. Forbes magazine consistently ranks Tenaska among the 50 largest private U.S. companies. Gross operating revenues were approximately $10.5 billion in 2017.

Tenaska has developed more than 10,000 megawatts (MW) of natural gas-fueled and renewable power projects. Tenaska and its affiliates have managed the acquisition of approximately 10,750 MW of energy assets. The current Tenaska operating fleet includes 11 natural gas-fueled and renewable power plants able to generate approximately 8,000 MW combined.

Tenaska affiliates are industry leaders in natural gas and electric power marketing. Tenaska Marketing Ventures (TMV) is among the top five largest natural gas marketers in North America and is the top-ranked natural gas pipeline capacity trader. TMV is consistently ranked first by its customers in the annual Mastio & Company Natural Gas Marketer Customer Value / Loyalty Benchmarking Study. During 2018, TMV sold or managed more than 10.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas per day. Tenaska Power Services Co. is the leading provider of energy management services to generation and demand-side customers in the U.S., with more third party-owned generation under management than any other provider.

For more information, visit www.tenaska.com.

About Diamond Generating Corporation
Diamond is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation and is a developer, owner and operator of privately owned power generating assets in the United States. It currently has ownership interest in 11 operating power generating facilities and two facilities under construction in the U.S., having total output capacity of approximately 6,500 MW, with net equity of 2,800 MW. For more information, visit www.dgc-us.com.

About JPOWER
J-POWER USA Investment Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. with headquarters located in Tokyo, Japan. J-POWER USA, is headquartered in the greater Chicago area and has a long-term strategy to acquire, develop, finance and operate power generation facilities in North America through its team of power professionals with a proven track record of successfully developing and acquiring power projects in the IPP sector. J-POWER USA has ownership interest in 11 facilities located around the country with 5,400 MW of power generation capacity and participates in several of the most competitive power markets in the country.

SOURCE Tenaska