ALLENTOWN, Pa., June 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Talen Energy
Corporation (NYSE: TLN) has completed a feasibility assessment
related to bringing natural gas to the Montour plant and installing boiler
modifications to enable a dual-fuel, also known as co-firing,
capability. The company's Board of Directors approved the project,
which will enable the Montour
plant to operate on coal, natural gas or in combination.
Engineering and design work is already in progress and, based on
obtaining all necessary permitting and regulatory approval, the
anticipated completion date is the second quarter of 2018.
Based on the results of a competitive RFP process, the company
is currently in the process of selecting a qualified third party to
construct, own and operate a 15 mile lateral pipeline to bring
natural gas to the 1,500 megawatt Montour plant. The estimated capital
expenditure for plant modifications is approximately $70 million with additional pipeline expenses and
payments to be made to the third party constructing the pipeline
and regulating and metering station.
"Montour is a significant asset
in the Talen Energy fleet and we are making the necessary
investments to improve its competitive position in the market,"
said Paul Farr, Talen Energy
President and Chief Executive Officer. "The Montour plant is located in close proximity to
one of the largest natural gas formations in the world, the
Marcellus Shale. Co-firing the plant to burn natural gas,
produced in Pennsylvania, enables
Talen Energy to leverage the strategic location of the plant."
The pipeline company selected by Talen Energy will be
responsible for obtaining all necessary environmental and
construction permitting from the appropriate federal, state and
local agencies. Talen Energy expects to announce additional details
related to the pipeline, contractor and next steps as part of its
typical quarterly reporting as those details become available.
About Talen Energy
Talen Energy is one of the largest competitive energy and power
generation companies in North
America. The company owns or controls 16,000 megawatts of
generating capacity in well-developed, structured wholesale power
markets, principally in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southwest
regions of the United States. For
more information, visit www.talenenergy.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This communication contains "forward-looking statements" that
are not limited to historical facts, but reflect Talen Energy's
current beliefs, expectations or intentions regarding future
events. Words such as "may," "will," "could," "should," "expect,"
"plan," "project," "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate,"
"predict," "potential," "pursue," "target," "continue," and similar
expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. Although Talen Energy believes that the expectations
and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are
reasonable, these statements are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the
results discussed in the statements. Among the important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements are: adverse economic conditions;
changes in commodity prices and related costs; the effectiveness of
Talen Energy's risk management techniques, including hedging;
accounting interpretations and requirements that may impact
reported results; operational, price and credit risks in the
wholesale and retail electricity markets; Talen Energy's ability to
forecast the actual load needed to perform full-requirements sales
contracts; weather conditions affecting generation, customer energy
use and operating costs and revenues; disruptions in fuel supply;
circumstances that may impact the levels of coal inventory that are
held; the performance of transmission facilities and any changes in
the structure and operation of, or the pricing limitations imposed
by, the RTOs and ISOs that operate those facilities; blackouts due
to disruptions in neighboring interconnected systems; competition;
federal and state legislation and regulation; costs of complying
with environmental and related worker health and safety laws and
regulations; the impacts of climate change; the availability and
cost of emission allowances; changes in legislative and regulatory
policy; security and safety risks associated with nuclear
generation; Talen Energy's level of indebtedness; the terms and
conditions of debt instruments that may restrict Talen Energy's
ability to operate its business; the performance of Talen Energy's
subsidiaries and affiliates, on which its cash flow and ability to
meet its debt obligations largely depend; the risks inherent with
variable rate indebtedness; disruption in financial markets; Talen
Energy's ability to access capital markets; acquisition or
divestiture activities, and Talen Energy's ability to realize
expected synergies and other benefits from such business
transactions, including in connection with the completed MACH Gen
acquisition; changes in technology; any failure of Talen Energy's
facilities to operate as planned, including in connection with
scheduled and unscheduled outages; Talen Energy's ability to
optimize its competitive power generation operations and the costs
associated with any capital expenditures, including the Brunner
Island dual-fuel project; significant increases in operation and
maintenance expenses; the loss of key personnel, the ability to
hire and retain qualified employees and the impact of collective
labor bargaining negotiations; war, armed conflicts or terrorist
attacks, including cyber-based attacks; risks associated with
federal and state tax laws and regulations; any determination that
the transaction that formed Talen Energy does not qualify as a
tax-free distribution under the Internal Revenue Code; Talen
Energy's ability to successfully integrate the RJS Power businesses
and to achieve anticipated synergies and cost savings as a result
of the spinoff transaction and combination with RJS Power; costs of
complying with reporting requirements as a newly public company and
any related risks of deficiencies in disclosure controls and
internal control over financial reporting as a standalone entity;
and the ability of affiliates of Riverstone Holdings, LLC, to
exercise influence over matters requiring Board of Directors and/or
stockholder approval; and the announced merger transaction
involving Talen Energy and affiliates of Riverstone. Any such
forward-looking statements should be considered in light of such
important factors and in conjunction with Talen Energy's Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2015,
its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March
31, 2016 and its other reports on file with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
Contacts:
Media Relations – Todd L. Martin,
570-542-2881
Investor Relations – Andy Ludwig,
610-774-3389
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SOURCE Talen Energy Corporation
