Construction underway on natural gas plant in eastern Ohio

CARROLLTON, Ohio (AP) — Construction has begun on a nearly $900 million natural gas-fired power plant in eastern Ohio that’s expected to produce enough electricity to power 750,000 homes.

A ceremonial groundbreaking for Carroll County Energy was held Tuesday near Carrollton, about 70 miles southeast of Cleveland.

Officials with Advanced Power AG, the Swiss-based company behind the project, tell the Akron Beacon Journal the plant will create half the carbon dioxide of a similar coal-fired plant. It will also create less than 10 percent of the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.

The plant is scheduled to begin operations in December 2017

Five other gas-fired plants are also slated to be built, expanded or converted to produce electricity in Ohio. They’re all expected to be operational by 2019.