Public jams auditorium for first Homer City open house
INDIANA, Indiana County — It was full house at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex on Wednesday, July 16, to hear about plans for the future of a Homer City coal plant.
A capacity crowd convened to discuss the gas-fired power complex to be built on the grounds of the former Homer City Generation plant in Center Township, Indiana County.
Representatives of the Homer City Redevelopment project, area trade unions and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection touted what the redevelopment project is calling “a transformative investment for Pennsylvania’s economic and energy future.”
“We are building three projects ... at the same site, at the same time,” said redevelopment project CEO Corey Hessen.
He compared the Homer City effort to a three-legged stool:
■ One is the power block, consisting of the seven gas-fired turbine engines that will be installed by GE Vernova;
At U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick’s Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, GE Vernova announced it had finalized an order to provide seven high-efficiency, natural gas turbines to the Homer City complex.
■ Another is the effort to sign up one or more customers to employ a data center that will be a part of the revamped Homer City complex;
■ The third is providing the gas.
At the summit, the redevelopment project announced an agreement in principle for EQT Corporation to serve as the exclusive provider of natural gas. The fuel will power a 4.4-gigawatt facility that will serve a 3,200-acre artificial intelligence and high-performance computing data center campus slated to go online in 2027.
Hessen and a panel of interested parties answered questions, both submitted in writing and from the audience.
Redevelopment project vice president Robin Gorman moderated the discussion. Boilermakers Local 154 business agent Shawn Steffee, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Northwest Regional director Erin K. Wells and redevelopment project compliance officer Gary Cline participated.
Steffee, a Homer City resident, said the building trades unions have worked with project contractor Kiewit Power Constructors on other projects.
He promised “a great skilled workforce” in the area surrounding the Homer City complex.
“We’re here in your community,” Steffee said.
He noted work should start to pick up on the 3,200-acre site by late fall. Hessen added the first concrete should be poured sometime after the first of the year in 2026.
As far as environmental issues are concerned, Wells said it is a balancing act every day, but that all involved are following rules and regulations.
Gorman said there would be at least one more open house, which may utilize the larger Ed Fry Arena. Organizers said they were surprised by the turnout, which filled the 654-seat auditorium and forced some to watch the forum outside in the lobby.
This article is shared courtesy of the Indiana Gazette, indianagazette.com.
