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Officials Confirm Second Power Plant Inquiry

ARCHBALD — On Wednesday, local leaders confirmed a Newswatch 16 Investigates report Tuesday that said a New Jersey company is interested in building  yet ...

ARCHBALD -- On Wednesday, local leaders confirmed a Newswatch 16 Investigates report Tuesday that said a New Jersey company is interested in building  yet another power plant in Lackawanna County.

People in Archbald are just beginning to learn that another company is considering building a power plant along the Casey Highway (Route 6) in Lackawanna County.

The president of Archbald's borough council confirms he was approached by a representative of DCO Energy three weeks ago.

"It's only preliminary talks. That's all it was," said Archbald council president Joseph Simon. "Just that they wanted to come to Archbald and maybe put a co-gen plant in, but they're not sure yet."

We spoke to Invenergy attorney Michael Blazer by phone.

"The notion that two plants can be built up there to operate at the same time is outlandish."

Invenergy has plans to build a 1,500 megawatt natural gas-fired plant on a site in Jessup, a little more than a mile east of the site in Archbald where DCO Energy has an option to buy land.

Invenergy claims the current pipeline doesn't bring enough natural gas to the area for two electric plants and adds DCO hasn't secured permission to get the power it generates onto the grid.

"You couldn't get a plant like this financed because you couldn't establish either your ability to build it or the market to sell electricity," said Blazer.

But an independent pipeline expert tells us an energy company like DCO could get permission to sell electricity to the grid, and have the natural gas pipeline expanded to the site to meet its needs.

Archbald is already home to a 25-megawatt power plant, built in 1987 to generate electricity from coal waste. It now generates electricity burning methane gas from a landfill.

Archbald officials have been told very little about the size or fuel source for the facility considered on the 45-acre tract on the borough's outskirts.

"We've been talking to people. They have inquired as to coming to Archbald, but we don't have anything concrete," Simon added.

A DCO spokesperson says the company might reveal its plans for Archbald next week and borough council president Joseph Simon says the council expects to hear more about potential plans for a power plant at one of its next meetings.

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