Panda Power announces new electric plant in Temple

Amid concerns about Texas' electricity capacity in the face of steady demand growth, Dallas-based Panda Power said Tuesday it landed financing for a 758-megawatt facility in Temple. Panda said construction will start immediately on the natural gas-fueled, combined-cycle power plant, which   could be in operation by the end of 2014, about the time state officials have said the state's electricity capacity could be running uncomfortably short. Bechtel and Siemens Energy Inc. will build the facility.

“It has been an uphill battle, in a very difficult financial market, to get this project off the drawing board and out of the ground,” Todd W. Carter, president and senior partner of Panda Power Funds, said in a prepared release. “Since the beginning, our team never lost sight that Texas needs the power. Thanks to our financial partners, our Panda team and the strong backing of state and local officials, the State of Texas will soon be the beneficiary of critically needed electricity, more jobs and greater economic development.”

-- Jim Fuquay