MEC Celebrates the Dedication of New 1,000 Megawatt Generation Facility
Cecil County, Md. – Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative (MEC) is pleased to announce the completion of Wildcat Point, a 1,000-MW combined-cycle natural gas power plant. The state-of-the-art $ 880-million facility became operational in late April of this year and produces enough electricity to power about 390,000 homes.
Attending the dedication ceremony from MEC were Chairman of the Board David J. Jones, Vice Chairman Franklin B. Myers, and President & CEO John C. Lee, Jr. The ceremony was held at the plant site in Cecil County, Maryland, for this facility that is now the largest-owned asset of Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), the wholesale power provider that is wholly owned and governed by MEC and 10 other electric cooperatives.
Wildcat Point adds to the cooperatives’ diversified mix of generation that provides a constant flow of electricity crucial to meeting its mission of delivering affordable and reliable power to its member owners. According to Marcus Harris, ODEC president and CEO, the opening of Wildcat Point Generation Facility is a “significant milestone for ODEC. This new source of cleaner, cost-effective power will improve reliability on the region’s electricity grid and will provide our members with a stable source of clean energy for decades, helping us to keep energy rates affordable…”
During the construction of the plant, a peak of nearly 1,000 construction workers labored across the site to bring the plant online. Now in operation, Wildcat Point employs 30 full-time employees. The plant is expected to have an estimated $ 33.5 million annual local impact.
MEC President and CEO Lee states, “Among MEC’s tremendous responsibilities are to not only deliver power but to also provide it, and Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative provides that electricity through a wholesale power contract with ODEC. In turn, ODEC secures power through contracts on the wholesale power market and through owning generation like this new facility at Wildcat Point.
With the addition of Wildcat Point, 60 percent of the generation serving those Members is now owned by our 11 Cooperatives. That’s significant when considering reliability, as well as the rate stability MEC’s Members realize through owning the generation that serves their own homes and businesses.”
MEC Chairman Jones adds, “The power market is certainly volatile as energy demands remain on the increase. Our responsibility is to mitigate that volatility, and owning generation nullifies that impact. Adding this new natural gas facility to ODEC’s generation mix further balances the remainder of our coal, nuclear, wind, and solar resources.
Both Jones and Lee represent MEC on the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative Board of Directors. Collectively, the 11 Cooperatives that own and govern Old Dominion Electric Cooperative serve 560,000 homes, farms, and businesses representing a population of 1.4 million people.
Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative is the not-for-profit energy provider to over 31,000 meters located in portions of the Virginia counties of Brunswick, Charlotte, Greensville, Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Pittsylvania, Southampton, and Sussex and the North Carolina counties of Granville, Person, Northampton, Vance, and Warren. It is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, headquartered in Chase City with district offices in Gretna, Emporia, and Chase City. Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative is an equal opportunity provider and employer. For more information, visit the Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative website.
