PowerSouth Energy Cooperative Expanding Lowman Energy Center Adding an additional Advanced-Class Gas Turbine from Mitsubishi Power

• Rapid increase in energy demand coupled with a decrease in available energy surplus led to PowerSouth’s decision to expand the Lowman Energy Center (LEC).
• Marks the second highly efficient advanced M501JAC gas turbine from Mitsubishi Power operating at the LEC.
• Burns & McDonnell will provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services.
• With the additional power from the new gas turbine (LEC 3), the LEC will provide over 1 gigawatt (GW) of power to the region.

LAKE MARY, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With an eye on the rapid increase in energy demand as well as the challenging power generation market, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative is taking action, leveraging its strategic industry partnerships to expand the Lowman Energy Center (LEC), located in Leroy, Alabama.

From among those strategic partnerships, PowerSouth selected Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc. to provide a second state-of-the-art, heavy duty, advanced-class gas turbine to the LEC, as the power plant expands to provide much-needed additional power to the region. Mitsubishi Power, a world leader in power generation technology, will supply its M501JAC gas turbine with a twenty-five year long-term service agreement, and Burns & McDonnell will provide EPC services.

Fast-moving energy drivers such as reshoring of manufacturing, electrification, and AI are greatly impacting the power generation supply chain. PowerSouth’s expansion of the LEC demonstrates the cooperative’s long-term planning ability and willingness to address these challenges early and head-on, in support of the region’s economic growth and development.

By leveraging existing infrastructure, Mitsubishi Power’s advanced turbine technology, and Burns & McDonnell’s EPC experience, the LEC expansion project will achieve emissions compliance and operational efficiency, leading to additional cost savings. The expansion will significantly increase power capacity for PowerSouth’s distribution members in Alabama and Northwest Florida.

LEC 3 is the second M501JAC gas turbine to operate at the LEC. The first began operating at the power plant in 2023. PowerSouth will use its existing control room for the expansion unit. The cooperative’s employees are already well-trained in the technology, making it a seamless transition to the new unit. PowerSouth is a traditionally winter-peaking system, and the new unit’s addition to the LEC will increase its winter capacity from 696MW to over 1GW of power, enough to power around 694,000 homes in the region.

The M501JAC leads the industry in reliability, efficiency, and output and can deliver the highest output in simple-cycle operation, maximizing the plant footprint to reliably deliver the most MW possible. A simple-cycle unit also provides operational flexibility, with the ability to ramp up and down faster than a combined-cycle plant, helping to maintain reliable service during times of peak demand. The unit’s high efficiency translates to affordable power for members.

“PowerSouth is grateful to have a strong professional relationship with valued industry partners like Mitsubishi Power and Burns & McDonnell,” said Damon Morgan, PowerSouth President & CEO. “Our distribution members, and the members at the end of the line – they need reliable power at the most affordable cost possible. As a generation and transmission cooperative, it is our mission to provide that power to homes, schools, organizations, businesses and industries across our service area. The expansion of LEC is crucial to our mission, and our strong ties with industry leaders keep us well-positioned to address the challenges of the future."

“Reliable power is the backbone of strong communities and life as we know it. It’s what keeps businesses running, jobs local, and families moving forward,” said Bill Newsom, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Power Americas. “PowerSouth’s investment in the Lowman Energy Center, including the addition of another M501JAC gas turbine, shows real foresight in meeting the surge in demand we’re seeing across the region. It has been a great experience working in partnership with PowerSouth and Burns & McDonnell to deliver dependable, American-made energy infrastructure that supports long-term growth. This is the kind of collaboration we need to ensure people and communities across the country have the reliable power they need today and can count on tomorrow.”

“We are proud to support cooperatives like PowerSouth as they proactively expand their generation capabilities to meet rising energy demands,” said Scott Strawn, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Power group at Burns & McDonnell. “Navigating today's power market requires a streamlined approach to project execution. Collaboration between PowerSouth, Mitsubishi Power and our integrated EPC team allows us to drive efficiency and reliability in advanced class gas turbine construction, delivering critical power infrastructure for the communities that depend on it.”

About PowerSouth Energy Cooperative

PowerSouth Energy Cooperative is a generation and transmission (G&T) electric cooperative with 18 electric cooperatives and four municipal electric systems in Alabama and northwest Florida. Our mission is to safely provide reliable, competitively priced wholesale power to promote development of the communities our members serve. Collectively, the members provide electric service to homes, businesses and industries in 51 Alabama and 10 Florida counties.

About Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc.

Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc. (Mitsubishi Power) headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida, employs more than 2,700 power generation, energy storage, and digital solutions experts and professionals. Our employees are focused on empowering customers to affordably and reliably combat climate change while also advancing human prosperity throughout North, Central, and South America. Mitsubishi Power’s power generation solutions include gas, steam, and aero-derivative turbines; power trains and power islands; geothermal systems; PV solar project development; environmental controls; and services. Energy storage solutions include green hydrogen, battery energy storage systems, and services. Mitsubishi Power also offers intelligent solutions that use artificial intelligence to enable autonomous operation of power plants. Mitsubishi Power is a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI). Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, MHI is one of the world’s leading heavy machinery manufacturers with engineering and manufacturing businesses spanning energy, infrastructure, transport, aerospace, and defense. For more information, visit the Mitsubishi Power Americas website and follow us on LinkedIn.

About Burns & McDonnell

Working from more than 75 offices around the world, Burns & McDonnell designs and builds critical infrastructure. Our family of companies — driven by engineers, construction professionals, architects, planners, technologists and scientists — delivers projects grounded in safety and a desire to make a difference as we make our clients successful. Founded in 1898, Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned. Learn more.