Competitive Power Ventures And Diamond Generating Corporation Close Financing On CPV Valley Energy Center In Orange County New York
New 720 MW Natural Gas – Powered Electric Generating Facility Will Help Increase Reliability And Mitigate Rate Increases For The New Lower Hudson Valley Capacity Zone
Braintree, MA – Competitive Power Ventures (“CPV”) and partner Diamond Generating Corporation announced today they have closed financing with MUFG Union Bank, N.A. and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank as Coordinating Lead Arrangers for the CPV Valley Energy Center to be constructed in Orange County New York. This is the first such transaction by CPV under new owner, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
Located 65 miles northwest of New York City, the CPV Valley Energy Center is a 720 megawatt combined-cycle natural gas-powered electric power generating facility with ultra-low sulfur diesel backup. The project will be constructed by a joint venture consisting of Skanska USA Civil Northeast, Inc., Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. and ECCO III Enterprises, Inc. Construction will take 32 months with commercial operation projected in early 2018.
The project will sell its capacity, energy and ancillary services into lower Hudson Valley and provide enough power to supply 720,000 New York homes. The project will interconnect into the New York Power Authority’s 345kV Marcy South transmission line in Middletown, NY.
To conserve water as a valuable natural resource, the CPV Valley Energy Center’s innovative design incorporates advanced air cooling which reduce s water use by approximately 85 percent compared to “wet” cooled facilities and uses recycled water from the nearby wastewater treatment facility. In addition, the project’s low emissions profile , powered by clean, efficient Siemens F-class gas turbine technology, is expected to contribute to the decade-long trend of improving air quality in the region.
The project enjoys strong support from residents, business, labor and elected leaders in Orange County and will provide substantial reliability, economic and environmental benefits to residents and consumers of electricity. It is expected that 400-500 construction jobs will be created during the approximately 32-month construction period and 23 well-paying permanent jobs will be created once the project is operational. The addition of the highly-efficient CPV Valley Energy Center will also help to mitigate the ratepayer impacts of the recently instituted new capacity zone in the lower Hudson Valley by reducing electricity prices by hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
“We are delighted to be bringing this project into construction at a time when the region is in need of new, clean electric generating capacity,” said Doug Egan, CPV Chief Executive Officer. “The CPV Valley Energy Center embodies our corporate mission to improve the economic, environmental and energy sustainability of the communities in which we operate.”
“DGC is pleased to be a part of this highly efficient, combined-cycle project in New York,” said Satoshi Hamada, President of Diamond Generating Corporation. “The CPV Valley Energy Center demonstrates our commitment to provide clean, flexible and reliable energy for local communities in competitive markets.”