Future of The Linfield Energy Center Depends On PowerWorks

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The future of the 550 megawatt (MW) Linfield Energy Center rests in the hands of the original developer, PowerWorks LLC (Wilton, Connecticut).

PowerWorks LLC and subsidiary Limerick Partners first submitted proposals to construct the $300 million combined cycle plant in early 1999 after securing property agreements in late 1998. In October of 2000 Limerick Partners sold development rights for the project to FPL Energy (NYSE:FPL) (Juno Beach, Florida). After acquiring the project, FPL embarked on an 18 month battle against opposition from local residents raising concerns over issues ranging from air and water contamination to fears about the proposed plant's close proximity to Exelon's Limerick Nuclear Generating Station.

Finally FPL began to see light at the end of the tunnel in April when the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) granted the company air quality permits to build the facility. Still needing local approvals, the company began to feel as though the Linfield Project could become a reality. Hope soon faded as the changing economic climate and the continuous drop in power prices across the nation led FPL to review their business development strategy. Then in October of this year the Linfield Energy Center experienced yet another obstacle when a panel of Montgomery County judges overturned the land development approval for the project.

Now according to FPL spokeswoman Mary Wells, the company has decided to leave the arena of developing new fossil-fuel power plants and has transferred project development rights back to PowerWorks. Company spokesman John Burk and President Ramesh Raman have stated that PowerWorks is in the process of reviewing the proposal but had not yet made a decision about whether to challenge the Montgomery County Court's ruling. The company has 30 days to appeal the Court's ruling and a decision is expected before that time.

If PowerWorks decides to move forward with project development and is successful in the appeal process, construction could begin in 2003. The plant would be a natural gas fired combined cycle plant located on a 56-acre parcel bordered by Sanatoga Road and Longview Road in Limerick Township, Pennsylvania. Electrical power form the facility would contribute to fulfilling demands of the Delaware Valley region. Township officials have indicated that they will continue to fight the project if PowerWorks elects to appeal the Court's decision and further pursue development of the Linfield Energy Center.

PowerWorks was founded in 1997 in the wake of deregulation of the electric utilities industry. The company is a privately owned developer of power projects.