First Power Block Completed at New Arkansas Power Plant

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). TECO Power Services (TPS) has just completed construction January 15th on the first block of the four block 2,368 megawatt (MW) Union Power Station. The combined-cycle power plant is located in El Dorado, Arkansas, in Union County.

Each power block includes of a 171-megawatt natural gas-fired General Electric MS7001FA turbine and generator set, joined with an Alstom heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG), and a 250-megawatt General Electric condensing steam turbine. The second power block is scheduled to come on-line in February, the third in April, and the fourth block in June 2003.

The Union Power Station will be developed, operated, and owned by a joint venture between Union Power Partners Limited Partnership and TECO Power Services. Union Power Partners LP is a subsidiary of Panda Energy International Incorporated (Dallas, Texas), a privately held, non-regulated electric generation company, focusing primarily on the development, ownership and operation of clean, low-cost power plants. Union Power Partners LP and its pipeline affiliate, Trans-Union Interstate Pipeline LP, had signed an interconnection and transportation agreement with Gulf States Pipeline, an affiliate of El Paso Field Services, which is the business unit of El Paso Energy Corporation (NYSE: EPG) (Houston, Texas).

TECO Power Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of TECO Energy (Tampa, Florida), a diversified, and energy-related holding company.

A unit of Williams Energy (NYSE: WMB) was selected as one of the primary pipelines to provide natural gas transportation service to the plant. Natural gas was selected because it is an abundant, economical and environmentally friendly fuel. When completed, the plant will have a resembling usage of 430,000MMBtu of natural gas per day. The plant is partnered with Panda Energy and the Union County Water Conservation Board to build a pipeline that will pump water from the nearby Ouachita River to the station.