Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance 
Thu, January 29, 2009
Wed, January 28, 2009
Constellation Energy Commences Commercial Operation of Grand Prairie Power Project in Alberta, Canada
BALTIMORE--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Constellation Energy (NYSE:CEG) today announced that its Grand Prairie Power Project, an 80-megawatt peaking power plant, has begun commercial operation. The newly developed and constructed natural gas-fired facility, which is located 250 miles northwest of Calgary, Alberta, was completed on an accelerated schedule in time to help meet Western Canada's peak winter energy demand.
Grand Prairie is 100 percent owned by Constellation Energy and employs three full-time employees. The start of commercial operations at Grand Prairie in late December 2008 concluded a 14-month process of regulatory approvals, permitting and construction.
Peaking plants produce energy only during times of peak energy demand, such as during cold winter or hot summer months. The Grand Prairie plant is capable of generating enough energy to serve more than 80,000 households. In addition, the plant's single gas turbine is powered by clean natural gas utilizing state-of-the-art emissions controls.
Constellation Energy ([ http://www.constellation.com ]) is a leading supplier of energy products and services to wholesale and retail electric and natural gas customers. It owns a diversified fleet of generating units located throughout the United States, totaling approximately 9,000 megawatts of generating capacity, and is among the leaders pursuing the development of new nuclear plants in the United States. The company delivers electricity and natural gas through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), its regulated utility in Central Maryland. A FORTUNE 500 company headquartered in Baltimore, Constellation Energy had revenues of $21 billion in 2007.