Published in the Daily News, by Johnny Williams

May 16, 2014

Over 150 people, ranging from elected and industry officials both on a local and regional scale to representatives of local businesses, attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Panda Liberty power plant on Thursday in Asylum Township.

The ceremony was a formal celebration of the significance of the 829 megawatt plant not just for Bradford County but for the entire state, as it will be using natural gas from the Marcellus Shale to power one million homes in the United States.

"This is the first Marcellus gas plant in the Commonwealth," Bradford County Commissioner Doug McClinko said. "This is a terrific day for Bradford County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."

Governor Tom Corbett was among the keynote speakers of the groundbreaking, and he recalled one of the first times he visited the northern tier back in 2003.

"It was like there was something missing," he said. "Who would've known back in 2003 what was going to happen to Pennsylvania over a decade later. Then, in 2007, we started hearing about the Marcellus Shale, and the more we heard the more we saw people coming to explore and understand the size of this natural gas field and what it's doing not just for the state but for the entire country.

"We are at the forefront of the American energy revolution and we are embracing it; a strategy built on this simple phrase, 'energy equals jobs,'" Corbett continued. "We've never lost sight of the fact that we have to develop this resource responsibly. It's the era of coal; we have regulations. We have to protect our environment; it's one of the lessons we've learned over the last 100 years."

Corbett went on to say how cleanly the power plant will operate by using the latest emissions control technology to make it one of the cleanest natural gas fired power plants in the nation.

"But this project is much more than about smart, clean energy," he said. "It's about Pennsylvania working standards, it's about the person that works nights, it's about the person driving the trucks. This Liberty power plant will provide enough power for up to a million homes. Manhattan and the rest of the Northeast is looking to us to provide that power. It means this facility can support nearly 600 jobs, it means up to $5.7 billion in the local economy, it means progress and prosperity for the entire northern tier of Pennsylvania."

In addition to company officials, other elected officials were also key speakers during the event, including State Representative Tina Pickett and Senator Gene Yaw, who offered statistics to illustrate how significant natural gas is to northeastern Pennsylvania.

"I read an article this week that the top 10 natural gas producing counties in the United States, including Alaska," he said. "The number five gas producing county in the entire country is Bradford County."

A round of applause followed this statement, and Yaw continued.

"We're not finished," he said. "Number six is Susquehanna County, which is next door from here, and the one that just moved into number 10 is Lycoming County, and I'm very proud to represent all three of those counties."

"I love being on construction sites," Pickett said. "No pun intended, but I love the energy around a construction site. It's so exciting to see, feel and know what it holds for the future. This is exciting in providing many jobs and much economic activity.

"When the power goes online, we will be here again to applaud this very exciting effort," she added.

All the speakers thanked the many people involved with the power plant, and several words of thanks were devoted to the late Asylum Twp Supervisor Kevin Barrett, who passed away in November of 2012 and was described as a large supporter of the power plant.

Once all of the speakers had finished, a formal groundbreaking ceremony was held, with elected and industry officials all participating in the ceremony.

(Johnny Williams, "Panda Liberty power plant holds groundbreaking: Governor Corbett among keynote speakers," Daily News, 5/16/14)