Glastonbury energy firm Gemma Power Systems broke ground over the weekend on its second 829-megawatt power plant designed to take advantage of the natural gas trapped in Pennsylvania shale rock formations.
Gemma has started work on the Patriot Generating Station in Montgomery, Pa., a 829-megawatt natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant. The facility is set to open in 2016.
The groundbreaking comes three months after the ground breaking at the 829-megawatt Panda Liberty Generating Station in Towanda, Pa., also a natural gas plant. Construction on the Liberty Plant is 45 percent complete.
Both plants are being constructed for Dallas energy firm Panda Power Funds. They are the first two plants to take advantage of the nearby Marcellus Shale formation, which has become a steady source of natural gas mined from the rocks.
