The retirement in 2014 of the 400MW, 65-year-old, coal-fired Sunbury plant in Snyder County Pennsylvania cleared the path for a new, more efficient, environmentally friendly solution: a 1,124MW combined-cycle natural gas facility on the site. Bechtel was chosen by Panda Power Funds to provide project management, engineering, procurement, construction, and startup services for the new Hummel Station – the company’s fifth combined-cycle plant for this customer. The complex now powers one million homes in Philadelphia and the New York metropolitan area.
Cleaning up ‘coal country’
Supplying nearly twice the power of the coal plant it replaces and reducing key emissions by more than 90%, Hummel Station will be one of the cleanest natural gas-powered plants in the US. It is the country’s largest coal-to-gas conversion to date. In an area long-dependent on coal, its combined-cycle technology will generate 180% more power, use 97% less cooling water and reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
Creating new jobs
Some 900 jobs were created during construction, as well as around 35 long-term jobs to operate the plant – providing significant stimulus for the Snyder County economy.
Facts and figures
- 1,124MW combined-cycle natural gas electricity generating plant – one of the cleanest of its type and the largest coal-to-gas conversion in the US.
- Hummel Station will power one million homes on completion in 2020
- Siemens-supplied power island hardware will include: x3 SGT6-5000F gas turbines, x1 SST6-5000 steam turbine, x3 SGen6-1000A air-cooled generators, x1 hydrogen-cooled SGen6-2000H generator, x3 NEM DrumPlus heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) and the SPPA-T3000 control system
