Part A candidate

Lock Haven

Clinton County · No street address in the report

A fuel oil peaker plant that retired in 2022 with 18.5 MW of capacity, on a 33.97-acre parcel in Clinton County. The PATER study evaluates it for new generation.

PPL zoneEvaluated for new generationDistillate Fuel OilRetired 2022

At a glance

The site by the numbers

Retired capacity18.5 MW

Retired in2022

Parcel33.97 acres

Adjacent land0 acres

Within 30 miles239,464 people

From 900 Conshohocken Rd133.6 miles

Section 4.12

What the report says about this site

“Located at no specific address but at coordinates 41°07'08.0"N 77°28'15.7"W, this former fuel oil peaker plant located across Balk Eagle Creek from Flemington PA retired in 2022 and has a retired capacity of 18.5 MW (see Figure 28 and Table 17). Pennsylvania Power and Light Co. has plans to rebuild the lock haven substation and Sunbury–Lock Haven 69-kV line here. The 34-acre site is located between Flemington and Mill Hall. The site is decommissioned, but its remediation status is unknown. It is zoned for commercial use and rated as nearly level. The site is not classified as a presumptive brownfield, and there is no known soil or groundwater contamination. FEMA designates the site as having a relatively low natural hazard risk but sitting in a floodway. The parcel and nearby parcels are not located within or adjacent to a documented coal mining area and are, therefore, considered to have minimal mine subsidence potential. The site has easy major road and rail access, and river access is ~2.5 miles away. The site has immediate access to transmission lines and a substation, but a natural gas pipeline is ~11 miles away. The nearest broadband installation is ~20 miles away. The nearest generator is ~33 miles away. The site sits ~1 mile from the Marcellus shale formation. The nearest wastewater treatment plant and brownfield are ~2 miles away. There are ~239,464 people within 30 miles of the site.”
PATER Part A report, section 4.12, page 46

Table 17

Site attributes

Report name: Lock Haven (PENNPOW)
Address: No street address in the report
Coordinates: 41°07'08.0"N 77°28'15.7"W
Fuel: Distillate Fuel Oil
Zoning: Commercial
Ruggedness: 1 = Nearly level
Brownfield designation: Not Presumptive
On-site contamination: None known
Groundwater contamination: None known
FEMA natural hazards risk: Relatively low
FEMA flood hazard: Floodway
Population within 30 miles: About 239,464 (report estimate)
PJM transmission zone: PPL
Evaluated for: New generation

Table 17

Distance to infrastructure

Approximate distance in miles, as published in Table 17 (page 46). The report says distances are measured from a point on the site and “all distance measurements must be considered general.”
Distance to	Miles
Major road	0.25
Rail network	0.23
Major river	2.42
Transmission line	0.00
Substation	0.00
Natural gas pipeline	11.34
Broadband	20.32
Marcellus Shale formation	0.88
Wastewater treatment facility	2.22
Brownfield site	2.12

Table 28

The report’s acreage-based capacity estimates

Installed capacity potential in megawatts, from Table 28 (pages 78 and 79). The report calls these estimates “approximate as they are based on parcel acreage (which may differ from developable land acreage) and single land use intensity values per technology.” The gas figure is the acreage divided by 0.2 acres per megawatt (Table 27). Extended acreage adds adjacent parcels with the same owner.
Technology	Parcel (34 acres)	Extended (34 acres)
Natural gas	170	170
Conventional nuclear	57	57
Battery storage	485	485
Solar	5	5

The report places sites in the PPL transmission zone in its generation category, because projected load growth there exceeds expected generation additions (pages 76 and 77).

Status

Where this site stands

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).

Our view on the study

Pennsylvania is studying two Schuylkill power sites. We think residents deserve corrected data, real environmental analysis and a straight answer on costs before the list gets shorter.

Read our view →

Take action

File a comment by October 14, watch the October 7 review meeting, and come to the Zoning Hearing Board on Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m.

Ways to help →