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Renovo Energy Center

Bechtel Corporation, a Virginia-based multinational engineering corporation, is proposing to develop the Renovo Energy Center natural gas-fired power plant in Renovo Borough, Clinton County, just north of Erie Avenue. Natural gas-fired power plants are large industrial facilities that generate electricity by burning natural gas.

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In 2020, Renovo Energy Center, LLC applied for an air permit to construct and temporarily operate the power plant and in April 2021, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) granted this permit. 

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This power plant is unwanted, unnecessary, and will provide no benefits to residents - only burdens.

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  • The proposed power plant would be an enormous industrial facility permitted to emit many tons of air pollutants each year that are known to be harmful to human health, especially in vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly.

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  • According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Pennsylvania is the third-largest net supplier of electricity to other states. The electricity generated from the power plant receiving this gas would go into New York's power grid and the PJM grid to transport it to the electricity wholesale market for 13 states and Washington D.C. 

 

  • The proposed plant would burden residents with health risks while providing virtually no direct benefits and potentially taking advantage of federal tax breaks.

 

  • The DEP denied Renovo residents the opportunity to learn more about the proposed power plant and raise concerns about the air permit during a public hearing, even though dozens of Renovo residents asked for one.

Renovo Energy Pipeline

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) approved Renovo Energy to construct a 16-inch pipeline through the Sproul State Forest that would provide the natural gas required for the proposed Renovo Energy power plant to operate.

 

Sproul is the largest forest in the state forest system, covering 305,450 acres. The public enjoys Sproul State Forest for hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, camping, boating, ATV riding, horse riding, and for peace and solitude. The forest contains over 400 miles of cold-water streams, including 12 designated Wilderness Trout Streams.

 

Renovo Energyʼs proposed pipeline will require over 20 acres of trees to be cleared, which will fragment the forest, promote invasive species, destroy streams as well as wetlands, in which the state must protect at the highest levels. This pipeline would provide no public benefit, only injury, to a much beloved and used public resource.

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