A natural gas plant about 20 miles northwest of Odessa, Texas, recently began operations, announced the plant’s operator, Invenergy Clean Power LLC. The plant, called the Ector County Energy Center, uses two GE 7FA simple-cycle combustion turbines fueled by Permian Basin natural gas. The facility, about seven miles northeast of Goldsmith, connects to Oncor Electric’s Holt Switching Station.
The plant is designed to provide peaking energy and respond quickly when the state grid operator requests additional power supply. In March, the Ector County Commissioners Court authorized a tax abatement for the $120 million, 386MW plant.
The deal allowed a full tax abatement for the first seven years Invenergy is in Ector County. In the eighth year, the abatement decreases to 75 percent, then to 50 percent in the ninth year and 25 percent in the tenth year. Representatives of Invenergy in March asked county officials for a 10-year, 100 percent tax abatement, the most the county could give.
