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use all of the infrastructure already in place, which supports a speed-to-market solution and revitalizes a power plant that had been providing well-paying jobs and a good tax base for the local school district and community since the late 1970’ s,” explains Christopher Cox, Vice President of Power Generation at FGC.
This facility was of great interest for Frontier Group due to its scale and strategic position. Indeed, the former Bruce Mansfield plant is one of the largest power facilities east of the Mississippi River and has been a major energy supplier to the region for decades. It also sits alongside one of the largest inland harbors on the Ohio River, adding significant logistical value. Given that the power plant was built in the late 1970s, its design meant that many industrial requirements were already in place to reduce environmental risk. Moreover, the plant had also been fully scrubbed and operated with an off-site fly ash landfill, so there were no environmental liabilities on the property itself. Its heat rate was already in the lower 9000s, which is a highly competitive figure given the way the original units were designed. All of this meant the site could be cleaned and returned to productive industrial use quickly, without needing extensive environmental remediation.
Frontier Group began its due diligence on the conversion in early 2023 and moved forward with the understanding that the plant needed to re-enter the energy market to help meet the surging power demand being driven by data center growth. Now known as the Shippingport Industrial Park, this project required close collaboration with a major developer and its technology partner. Christopher explains how Frontier Group managed to maintain efficient collaboration throughout the project.“ A project of this magnitude requires strong communication among all the parties. We engaged all local 38