Infrastructure group tours CPV Fairview Energy Center

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — Soon, nearly 1 million homes throughout the region will have cleaner energy.

It's all powered by the Competitive Power Venture's Fairview Energy Center in Jackson Township, a project that has been years in the making.

The project caught the eye of the group Grow America's Infrastructure, also known as GAIN. On Monday, members of the organization got an exclusive look at the natural gas power plant that has cost over $1 billion to build.

Jeff Ahrens, the vice president of engineering and construction on the project, says the project is 85% complete and they're ahead of schedule right now.

Ahrens says around September they plan for the plant to start generating power, and he hopes construction will be completed before Christmas.

"Projects like this are helping to return light industry to the area helping to approve our quality of life and support our business trade. So yeah this is something I hope is replicated throughout the region," said Brigham McCown, a member of GAIN.

Ahrens says the natural gas plant puts out around 50% less emissions than other forms of energy, and it's 30% more efficient than a coal plant.

"It's very rewarding. Coming up to you know over 1.8 million man hours of local building this thing. To see this going from a vision to development to thousands of documents and drawings to basically flipping a switch and having over 1100 megawatts," said Ahrens

While the Fairview Energy Center has brought hundreds of jobs into the area for construction, once it's completed it will only require 20 to 25 people to operate the plant.