Natural gas serves as a bridge to a clean energy future, giving off less than half of the carbon emissions of coal when burned
Southeast Chicago Energy Project is an eight-unit, 296-megawatt (MW), natural gas-fueled generation facility located in Chicago, Illinois. The facility is used as needed for peak energy demand periods and load balancing.
Southeast Chicago Energy Project was built as a joint effort between Constellation and PERC Power Generation, a unit of Peoples Energy Corporation, and was completed in 2002. Constellation now has 100% ownership of the plant.
The facility is a Level-1 Blackstart Facility, meaning that it can be restarted without outside power. In the event of a major power system failure, Southeast Chicago Energy Project will be used to re-energize the electric system and bring other regional power plants back online.
One of the first new gas-fired facilities sited within the city of Chicago, it was hailed as one of the cleanest, most modern, and most efficient power plants in the United States. The facility provides much needed peak generation to Chicago during periods of high electric demand in the summer and winter months. Each unit at Southeast Chicago is rated at 37 MW and runs on natural gas.