Ironwood — 778 MW gas plant, Lebanon County, PA

Ironwood — 778 MW gas plant, Lebanon County, PA · Ask the Grid

Generation and physical site

EIA plant 55337 · Inventory for Sep 2026.

Reported operating nameplate by technology

Natural gas: 777.6 MW

Operating generators only. Battery power is in MW; stored energy is in MWh. These ratings do not establish a shared export limit.

Generator records (3)

EIA generator status and nameplate capacity for Ironwood LLC
Generator	Technology	Status	Power (MW)	Energy (MWh)
CT1	Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle	Operating	259.2	Unknown
CT2	Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle	Operating	259.2	Unknown
ST4	Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle	Operating	259.2	Unknown

Physical map location · OpenStreetMap: 40.35144, -76.36517
Filed location · EIA: 40.35090, -76.36580

Sources and observation dates

Inventory source: EIA-860M workbook (preliminary)
EIA reporting month: Sep 2026
EIA retrieved: Oct 24, 2026
OSM extract: Oct 9, 2026
OSM last mapped edit: Feb 7, 2024
Map prepared: Oct 24, 2026
Field verification: Not reported

Reporting month describes the inventory. Retrieval and map preparation describe processing; an OSM edit does not establish an in-service date.

EIA source inventory

Units and generators

Current generator records and technology attributes reported through EIA-860.

Generator	Capacity	Technology	Operation	Status
CT1	259.2 MW 261.6 MW summer	Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle CT	Dec 2001	Operating
CT2	259.2 MW 261.6 MW summer	Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle CT	Dec 2001	Operating
ST4	259.2 MW 236.8 MW summer	Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle CA	Dec 2001	Operating

Commercial, land, and environmental record

Source-backed project transactions, agreements, land records, permits, and environmental disclosures. Portfolio and adjacent-project facts remain explicitly scoped.

Financing

Project Financing

Jun 25, 1999

AES Ironwood issued $308.5 million senior secured bonds to finance construction and fund construction-period interest. Principal repayment scheduled through November 30, 2025.

$308.5M26 yearsAES Ironwood, L.L.C.

Source

Equity Financing Commitment

Date not disclosed

AES Ironwood, Inc. committed up to $50.1 million to AES Ironwood, LLC under equity subscription agreement. Records show $30 million subordinated-debt contribution converted to equity and $8.8 million equity contribution on February 26, 2002.

$50.1MAES Ironwood, L.L.C.

Source

Bond Exchange And Refinancing

Feb 11, 2013

PPL Energy Supply exchange offer accepted $167.3 million (76.39%) of outstanding PPL Ironwood 8.857% bonds. Holders received new PPL Energy Supply senior notes at $1,270 per $1,000 principal plus $8.46 cash per $1,000.

$167.3MPPL Energy Supply, LLC · PPL Ironwood, LLC

Source

Assumed And Repaid Project Debt

Oct 8, 2015

TransCanada would assume $42 million plant debt at closing and repay within 45 days using escrow funds provided by Talen Energy.

$42.0MTransCanada Corporation · Talen Energy Corporation

TransCanada Enters Agreement to Acquire Ironwood Power Plant

Transactions and agreements

Offtake And Fuel Supply Agreement

2008

PPL EnergyPlus supplied natural gas and received facility's full electricity output and capacity value under tolling agreement expiring 2021.

13 yearsPPL EnergyPlus, LLC · PPL Ironwood, LLC

Source

Acquisition Agreement

Feb 2012

PPL Generation agreed to acquire AES Ironwood, LLC and AES Prescott, LLC from AES subsidiary. Announced consideration approximately $304 million: $87 million cash purchase price and $217 million net project indebtedness.

$304.0M705 MW contractedPPL Generation, LLC · AES Ironwood, L.L.C. · AES Prescott, L.L.C. · The AES Corporation

PPL Reaches Agreement to Acquire Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant in Pennsylvania

Acquisition Closing

Apr 2012

PPL Energy Supply completed acquisition of AES Ironwood, LLC and AES Prescott, LLC. Aggregate enterprise consideration $326 million: $258 million assumed debt fair value, $17 million restricted cash reserves, $85 million equity cash consideration.

$326.0MPPL Energy Supply, LLC · AES Ironwood, L.L.C. · AES Prescott, L.L.C. · The AES Corporation

Source

Acquisition Agreement

Oct 2015

TransCanada agreed to acquire 778 MW Ironwood CCGT plant from Talen Energy for $654 million. $42 million debt assumed at closing and repaid within 45 days from seller-funded escrow.

$654.0M778 MW contractedTransCanada Corporation · Talen Energy Corporation

TransCanada Enters Agreement to Acquire Ironwood Power Plant

Acquisition Closing

Feb 2016

TransCanada completed acquisition of Ironwood natural-gas CCGT plant in Lebanon, Pennsylvania for $653 million cash after post-acquisition adjustments. 778 MW capacity, delivers energy into PJM.

$653.0M778 MW contractedTransCanada Corporation · Talen Energy Corporation

TransCanada Reports Strong Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results

Land and environmental record

Air Permit

Aug 27, 2024

Permit No. Pennsylvania Title V/State Operating Permit No. 38-05019; DEP authorization/application identifier 1417921

Pennsylvania DEP permit identifies HELIX IRONWOOD LLC/LEBANON at 305 Prescott Road, Lebanon County. Title V permit issued August 27, 2024 and expires August 31, 2029.

TITLE V/STATE OPERATING PERMIT

Cooling And Wastewater

Sep 13, 2018

Mechanical-draft evaporative cooling tower; water consumed mainly through evaporation

Facility's water is used primarily in mechanical-draft evaporative cooling tower. DRBC record identifies cooling-tower blowdown and reverse-osmosis reject water as principal wastewater streams, along with plant drains, boiler blowdown, and maintenance washdown.

Source

Upstream Wastewater Supply Permit

Jul 19, 2022

NPDES Permit No. PA0027316 for Lebanon City STP; treated effluent portion used by PPL Ironwood as cooling water

Pennsylvania DEP NPDES fact sheet identifies PA0027316 as Lebanon City Authority STP permit. Portion of treated effluent is used by PPL Ironwood Electric Power Generating Plant as cooling water; remaining discharges to Quittapahilla Creek via Outfall 001.

Source

Wastewater And Zero Liquid Discharge

Sep 13, 2018

Zero-liquid-discharge process-water system; sanitary wastewater handled by on-lot septic

DRBC docket: cooling-tower blowdown and reverse-osmosis reject water sent to brine concentrator, evaporator, and crystallizer system. Ironwood is a zero-liquid-discharge facility with no discharge of waste or process water from site; sanitary wastewater conveyed to on-lot septic system.

Source

Water Use

Sep 13, 2018

Normal water use approximately 3.6 million gallons per day; peak requirement up to 4.5 million gallons per day

DRBC record: normal operations use 3.6 million gallons per day (1.44 mgd from City of Lebanon sewage effluent, 2.16 mgd from Pennsy Quarry SG-2). Peak operation requires up to 4.5 million gallons per day for cooling-water makeup, steam evaporative loss, and maintenance.

Source

Mapped facility footprint

Timeline and sources

Project milestones and public references behind the asset profile.

Project timeline

Oct 30, 1998
Oct 30, 1998
Project Company FormedSource
AES Ironwood, L. L. C. was formed to develop, construct, own, operate, and maintain the Lebanon County generating facility.
Dec 2001
Dec 2001
Generators enter operationEIA-860
EIA-860 lists generator CT1, generator CT2, generator ST4 with this operating date.
Dec 28, 2001
Dec 28, 2001
Commercial OperationSource
AES Ironwood commenced commercial operations and the facility became commercially available under its power purchase agreement with Williams Energy.
Mar 12, 2003
Mar 12, 2003
Final AcceptanceSource
Feb 2016
Feb 2016
Acquisition ClosedTransCanada...
TransCanada completed acquisition of Ironwood natural-gas CCGT plant in Lebanon, Pennsylvania for $653 million cash after post-acquisition adjustments. 778 MW capacity, delivers energy into PJM.
Jun 5, 2017
Jun 5, 2017
Acquisition by Helix Generation and LS PowerTransCanada...
TransCanada completed the sale of its Northeast merchant generation assets to Helix Generation, an LS Power affiliate. The portfolio included Ironwood, and the transaction was approximately $2.1 billion for four facilities.

Sources

PublisherReferenceType

U.S. Energy Information AdministrationEIA-860 generator inventoryFederal registry

U.S. Energy Information AdministrationEIA-923 generation filingsFederal filing

siemens-energy.comSGT6-5000F Heavy-duty gas turbine (60 Hz)other

Common questions about Ironwood

Answered from the published record above. Questions whose inputs this profile does not carry are omitted rather than estimated.

How big is Ironwood?

Ironwood reports 777.6 MW natural gas of operating nameplate capacity. These technology ratings do not establish a common export limit. Source: EIA Sep 2026.

What kind of plant is Ironwood?

Ironwood is a Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle facility in Lebanon County, PA, participating in the PJM market.

Where is Ironwood located?

Ironwood is in Lebanon County, PA, inside the PJM balancing area.

Who operates Ironwood?

Ironwood is operated by Helix Ironwood LLC according to the EIA generator inventory. Reporting membership does not by itself establish ultimate ownership.

How much electricity does Ironwood generate?

Ironwood reported 3,975.6 GWh over the twelve months to 2026-07. Figures are net generation as filed to EIA-923.

Where does Ironwood connect to the grid?

Ironwood interconnects at South Lebanon, on the Metropolitan Edison Co system.

How does Ironwood compare to other plants?

By capacity, Ironwood ranks #152 of 540 operating plants of the same technology nationally. It ranks #14 of 26 in PA.

Co-located assets

Plants within 25 km, nearest first, regardless of technology. Proximity is straight-line distance between mapped plant coordinates; it does not by itself establish a shared point of interconnection.

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Overview

Overview

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Profile

Structured profile

Generation and physical site

Reported operating nameplate by technology

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Units and generators

Performance

Peer context

Monthly generation

Grid and market context

Market registration

Nearby substations

Commercial, land, and environmental record

Financing

Transactions and agreements

Land and environmental record

Related parties and identifiers

Relationship graph

Parties and identifiers

Reporting portfolio

Timeline and sources

Project timeline

Sources

Common questions about Ironwood

How big is Ironwood?

What kind of plant is Ironwood?

Where is Ironwood located?

Who operates Ironwood?

How much electricity does Ironwood generate?

Where does Ironwood connect to the grid?

How does Ironwood compare to other plants?

Co-located assets

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