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Austin Energy has announced plans for a $60 million expansion of its Del Valle natural gas plant, according to an article at Statesman.com, the online publication of the Austin American-Statesman. The expansion is intended to provide more power when the demand for electricity is highest. The natural gas plant expansion will make up for the loss of power associated with the closing of Austin's Holly Power Plant, which will be shuttered at the end of September after more than 40 years of power generation.
Over the next two years, the Sand Hill Energy Center in Austin will add two more gas turbines, which are modified jet engines that can be turned on quickly to address a surge in electricity use.
With the new units, Sand Hill's peak load capacity will increase from 180 MW to 280 MW, enough to power 210,000 homes. Austin Energy last added peaking capacity in 2001, when the first four Sand Hill units were built.
Austin Energy has about 3,000 MW of total capacity from coal, natural gas, nuclear and renewable sources such as wind and solar power. It uses about 2,400 MW during the summer peak.
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