PurGen
About SCS Energy
SCS Energy has a record of successfully developing and financing large capital projects in the energy industry that meet market needs and set new standards for environmental performance.
SCS Energy's most recent development project, Astoria Energy, is a 1,200 MW combined cycle natural gas-fired, air-cooled facility located in the Astoria section of Queens, New York. SCS Energy initiated the project in 1999 and was the lead developer and manager of the project through development, financing, construction, and initial operations. With Credit Suisse First Boston, SCS brought in $285 million in private equity participation and approximately $800 million in debt financing. SCS negotiated a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. to support the Phase I financing. SCS Energy negotiated an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Stone & Webster to construct Phase I consistent with the demands of the Con Ed PPA and the New York Independent System Operator (ISO). SCS Energy completed construction of Phase I on budget and on schedule, a highly unusual event for any kind of construction in New York City. Astoria Energy was a recipient of the 2006 New York Industrial Project of the Year Award and the 2007 Pacesetter Plant Award.
Astoria Energy was significant because SCS completed the project and put it into service on time and on budget, despite the challenges of building a new plant in one of the most densely populated urban communities in the world.
From an energy perspective, Astoria Energy was significant because it delivered 1,200 MW of electricity in a load pocket where new generation was desperately needed to address the ISO’s reliability and congestion concerns, and to reduce attendant price volatility.
And from an environmental perspective, Astoria Energy was significant because it was the first plant of its type to be built using air cooling of the power block rather than water cooling by drawing water from sensitive water bodies. This made it extremely difficult for other power plant developers to continue to fight environmental regulators seeking to protect fisheries and other water resources from the impacts of water cooling.
Prior to Astoria Energy, SCS Energy had developed Marcus Hook, a 750 MW combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant located in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. The plant, which began operation in 2005, is currently owned by FPL Energy. SCS Energy also was the initial developer and an initial owner of Newington Energy, a 500 MW combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant located in Newington New Hampshire.
By industry standards, SCS Energy is a small development company. SCS is especially able to take on blockbuster projects with success because we boast a project team that brings more than 175 years of industry experience to every challenge, and because our small size gives us the nimbleness to move and adapt quickly to rapidly changing conditions in the relevant markets and to the evolution of public policy as it affects energy project development.
* * *
