China takes big role in Penwell power-plant project

PENWELL, ECTOR COUNTY – The Texas Clean Energy Project — which includes a 400-megawatt power plant and an adjacent chemical facility where coal will be turned into a clean, combustible gas — has gotten a lender for the $2.5 billion project.

The state-owned Export-Import Bank of China will be the plant’s sole lender, according to Summit Power Group LLC, the project’s developer.

China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec, will manage construction of a critical portion of the plant.

The project, one of three big coal gasification projects in the U.S., has had difficulty gaining traction because it is complex and expensive. But it has secured all the necessary permits and buyers for electricity and byproducts. It is expected to be in service by 2017.

See previous NewsTalk Texas.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal.