W. Pa. power plant begins $700 million upgrade

W. Pa. power plant begins $700 million upgrade

HOMER CITY, Pa. (AP) — Work is beginning on $700 million in pollution control upgrades to a major western Pennsylvania power plant.

The Indiana Gazette reports Sunday that a subsidiary of General Electric has provided $50 million to begin work on the Homer City Generating Station, about 45 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

The paper says the subsidiary will contribute about $370 million to the project this year. The upgrades seek to bring the plant into compliance with new air quality rules. The work is expected to be completed in 2014, and will employ up to 600 people.

Homer City is the state’s second-largest coal-fired plant and produces enough energy to power 2 million homes.

The Sierra Club and other environmental groups have said the pollution controls aren’t good enough and have threatened to sue.