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Built by a turn-key consortium of Bechtel Corp. and Siemens Energy
Inc.
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One of the cleanest natural gas-fueled power facilities in the
nation
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Plant can continuously power up to 778,000 homes in Northern
Virginia and the District of Columbia
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Generating station projected to contribute approximately $7.1
billion to area economy
After the installation of 1.4 million linear feet of electrical cable,
113,161 feet of pipe, 890 tons of steel and expending more than 1.6
million man hours, Panda Power Funds’ 778-megawatt “Stonewall”
generating station has achieved commercial operations. The Loudoun
County, Virginia power facility was finished ahead of schedule and under
budget, and initial tests show the plant is exceeding performance
guarantees for both power output and efficiency. The plant is capable of
continuously supplying the power needs of up to 778,000 homes in the
Northern Virginia/District of Columbia metropolitan area.
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The 778-megawatt Panda Stonewall generating station (Photo: Business Wire)
The combined-cycle generating station was built by a turn-key consortium
of Siemens Energy Inc. and Bechtel Corp. Siemens provided the power
island package — including the natural gas turbines, steam turbine,
generators, heat recovery steam generators, and instrumentation and
controls systems. Bechtel was responsible for the engineering and
procurement for the balance of the plant, and the construction and
commissioning of the facility.
“Panda Stonewall is one of the newest, cleanest and most efficient
natural gas-fueled power plants in the United States,” said Todd W.
Carter, CEO and senior partner of Panda Power Funds. “Entering
commercial operations represents the ultimate success of Panda’s,
Bechtel’s and Siemens’ three year collaboration on Stonewall. This is
the fourth Panda power project to be completed by the consortium ahead
of schedule, under budget and exceeding output and efficiency
guarantees.”
Craig Albert, president of Bechtel’s global infrastructure business,
added, "I’d like to thank Panda Power Funds for their ongoing support
and thank our team, which has delivered this high quality and highly
competitive plant ahead of schedule.”
Economic and Job Creation Benefits
The Stonewall project is projected to contribute an estimated $7.1
billion to Virginia’s economy during the recent construction phase and
the plant’s first 10 years of operation. Approximately 700 jobs were
created to construct the power plant at peak construction. The plant
employs 27 full-time employees to oversee operations and maintenance of
the facility.
The Stonewall project marked the sixth financing of a large scale power
facility by Panda Power Funds in a three year period, then representing
approximately $5 billion in total combined capital. The Stonewall
facility itself raised debt capital of approximately $570 million. Panda
Power Funds supplied equity capital for the power project along with
large institutional co-investors, including Siemens Financial Services.
“Siemens Financial Services is proud to have invested alongside Panda
Power Funds in this state-of-the-art power project,” said Kirk Edelman,
Global Head of Energy Finance at Siemens Financial Services. “Our
investment underscores Siemens’ strong commitment to supporting projects
that deliver cleaner, more environmentally-friendly and sustainable
energy.”
The Panda Stonewall facility is strategically sited approximately 4
miles southeast of Leesburg, Virginia, in one of the fastest growing
metropolitan areas of the United States. According to a June 2015 study
conducted by the George Mason Center for Regional Analysis, the Greater
Washington region is projected to add more than 410,000 new households
by 2023 as a result of job growth. In addition, Loudoun County, dubbed
“Data Center Alley,” hosts the largest concentration of data centers in
the world. More than 70 percent of the world’s internet traffic flows
through the County on a daily basis.
Environmental Benefits
The Panda Stonewall plant was purposefully designed to minimize impacts
to the local community, utilizing advanced emissions-control technology.
The generating station also uses reclaimed water from the Town of
Leesburg to cool the facility, conserving the Commonwealth’s natural
supply of drinking water. Putting to use reclaimed water that would
normally be diverted to the Potomac River subsequently prevents the
discharge of nutrients into the environmentally sensitive Chesapeake Bay
watershed.
Panda began site work of the Stonewall facility in mid-July of 2014 and
issued a Full Notice to Proceed for construction of the plant in
November of the same year. Gas can be supplied to the Stonewall facility
from either of two 30” gas pipelines, individually owned by Dominion
Resources and Columbia Gas, which pass through the plant site. The plant
connects to the grid through an existing Dominion Virginia Power 230 kV
line that traverses the site between the Pleasant View and Brambleton
substations.
About Panda Power Funds
Founded in 2010, Panda Power Funds is a private equity firm
headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that develops, owns, operates and
manages investments in clean energy. Panda has seven combined-cycle
power plants in operation or under construction in Texas, Pennsylvania
and Virginia with a combined capacity of more than 5,800 megawatts.
Panda Power Funds also has a 990-megawatt power project in Maryland in
advanced development. The fund built a 20-megawatt solar farm in
southwest New Jersey that is one of the largest solar facilities in the
Northeast United States. Additional information on Panda Power Funds can
be found at www.pandafunds.com.
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