Nov. 28--A Nebraska energy company said this week that it could break ground on $1 billion power plant in Westmoreland County as early as 2011.

Representatives of Tenaska Energy announced that it will purchase about 400 acres of farmland south of Interstate 70 in South Huntingdon Township.

It refused to disclose the purchase price or any other details of the deal.

The company last summer announced plans to build an a facility to generate electric power that would act as a power backup for utilities along the East Coast. Construction of the power plant is estimated to cost $500 million.

Early plans call for the power plant to be built on 50 acres of land with the remaining property to serve as a buffer zone between the facility and the community.

Dan Culver, Tenaska project manager, in an e-mail said progress is being made toward construction in 2011.

"Tenaska is in the process of preparing documentation for needed zoning changes and negotiating a contract for water supply with the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County," Culver said.

In August, the water authority agreed to a deal in which Tenaska paid $50,000 to reserve the purchase of up to 6 million gallons of water a day.

Municipal Authority Manager Chris Kerr confirmed informal negotiations have been ongoing to finalize a deal for Tenaska to purchase water for plant operations.

"We've talked to them. It all seems positive," Kerr said.

Early proposals call for Tenaska to pay for improvements to the water system that would be needed to accommodate the large volume of water required by the company. In return, the authority would give the company a reduced rate for the water.

Kerr said improvements costing as much as $30 million might be needed for the authority's delivery system to accommodate Tenaska's water demands.

County Planning Director Larry Larese said this week he has had no recent discussions with Tenaska representatives and has no updates about any local efforts with regards to the proposal.

In a news release, Tenaska officials said the project would generate 300 construction jobs and permanent work for about 30 people.

Tenaska this week posted a page on the Internet detailing its proposal to build the power plant.

"Because we know many in the community have questions, we have included a question-and-answer section which we believe will address many of those issues," Culver said. "We may not have anticipated everything, so the site also has a 'Contact Us' section where citizens can e-mail questions."

The Web site can be found at: www.tenaskawestmorelandproject.com.

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