Cambria Cogeneration

“Located at 243 Rubisch Rd, Ebensburg, PA 15931 (coordinates 40°28'28.2"N 78°42'04.7"W), this 46.3-acre former coal plant retired in 2019 and has a retired capacity of 98 MW (see Figure 20 and Table 9). Most of the buildings have been demolished, and a waste management company has built a parking lot and started operating on the site. The site has been decommissioned, but the remediation status is unknown. The site is south of US-22 and just north of Bethlehem Mine 33. It is zoned for industrial use and has 55.6 acres of potentially developable adjacent land rated as moderately rugged. The site is considered a presumptive brownfield and there is no known groundwater contamination. FEMA designates the site as having a relatively low natural hazard risk and as a minimal flooding risk. The parcel and nearby parcels are located within or adjacent to a confirmed underground mining area and are, therefore, considered to have elevated mine subsidence potential. The site has immediate access to major highways, and rail access is ~1 mile away; however, the closest major river is ~10 miles away. The site has close access to transmission lines, a substation, and a natural gas pipeline, and the nearest installed broadband is ~1 mile away. The nearest generating station is ~7 miles away. The site is located on the Marcellus shale formation. The nearest wastewater treatment plant is ~1 mile away, and the nearest brownfield is ~2 miles away. There are ~389,131 people within 30 miles of the site.”

PATER Part A report, section 4.4, page 38

Report name

Cambria Cogeneration

Address

243 Rubisch Rd, Ebensburg, PA 15931

Coordinates

40°28'28.2"N 78°42'04.7"W

Fuel

Waste Coal

Zoning

Industrial

Ruggedness

4 = Moderately rugged

Brownfield designation

Presumptive

On-site contamination

TBD

Groundwater contamination

None Known

FEMA natural hazards risk

Relatively low

FEMA flood hazard

Minimal

Population within 30 miles

About 389,131 (report estimate)

PJM transmission zone

PENELEC

Evaluated for

New large load

The report places sites in the PENELEC transmission zone in its large-load category, because expected generation additions there exceed projected load growth (pages 76 and 79).

The acreage-based generation estimates in Table 28 cover only the sites in zones evaluated for generation, so this site does not appear there.

Current status

Part A candidate. Part B will narrow the 21 sites to 5 to 7 priorities.

Next step

Part B will rank the sites and validate the top 5 to 7 through site visits (page 103).

Public comment

Written comments on Part A are accepted under PUC Docket No. M-2026-3059601 through October 14, 2026.

Review meetings

The report says PATER Study Review Meetings are planned for October and February (page 103).