A ceremony Wednesday morning with employees, customers, and local officials celebrated the successful completion of the Paradise Combined Cycle Gas Plant in Drakesboro, Ky. The plant has actually been generating power since April, but today’s ceremony marks the official handing over of the plant from Generation Construction to Power Operations.
“This facility is an important part of TVA’s commitment to cleaner energy, a more diversified generating portfolio, and reliable, low-cost power,” said TVA President & CEO Bill Johnson.
“This project has been a big success, finishing well ahead of schedule, under budget and with an excellent safety record,” said Bob Deacy, senior vice president, Generation Construction.
“At its peak, the construction had 800 people working on the site, providing a boost to the local Kentucky economy,” he said.
“We are fortunate that our craft workforce was hired locally.”
“As we celebrate today and look ahead, we also see TVA’s history in this project,” said David Sorrick, senior vice president, Power Operations. “I have heard many stories about the people working on this project whose fathers or grandfathers helped build the Paradise Coal Plant.
“This combined cycle plant is designed to be innovative—it has site-wide WiFi, mobile data accessibility, electric vehicles and more,” he added. “We are utilizing best practices and technology to help us operate it most efficiently and effectively.”
The new plant went online on April 7 with a capacity of 1,100 megawatts. As of June 30, it had already generated over 1,200,000 MWHr for the TVA system.
“Thank you for all you bring to this area,” said Scott Ramsey, CEO of Warren Rural Electric Cooperative, which serves the area where the new facility is located.
Mr. Sorrick added, “Paradise Combined Cycle Plant is a significant investment made for the right reasons to benefit the 9 million people in the Tennessee Valley.”