Plant Barry Expansion Apace

Alabama Power Co. is proceeding on budget and on schedule with a new natural gas-fired power unit that was a major part of a $1.1 billion expansion approved by the Alabama Public Service Commission in 2020, AL.com reports. Work on the James M. Barry Electric Generating Plant (Plant Barry) in Mobile County is approximately 70% complete, with construction of a combined-cycle gas unit set to begin operating in November 2023. This unit is the largest new construction item in the expansion plan and, when complete, is to be one of the most efficient gas power units in the country. There are also plans to retire the coal-fired Unit 5 at Plant Barry and to convert Unit 4 from coal to natural gas by 2028. Once those projects are complete, Plant Barry will no longer use coal, but run entirely on natural gas and combined-cycle units. Combined-cycle units have both gas and steam turbines to maximize efficiency, which is estimated at up to 50% higher than that of traditional gas units.