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ndustrial and commercial demand for electricity in the Southern Plains is behind a US$1.2 billion investment in a 750- megawatt power plant near Ft. Towson, Okla., in the southeast corner of the Sooner State. Anadarko, Okla.- based Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (WFEC) is building the coal- fired plant and will share ownership of the site with Brazos Electric Power Cooperative of Waco, Texas. Known as Hugo 2, the new plant is being built adjacent to WFEC's existing, 450- megawatt plant, Hugo 1. The new capacity will meet the power demands of the rural electric cooperatives' customers, located throughout much of Oklahoma and northern Texas. WFEC will receive 250 megawatts from Hugo 2; co- owner Brazos will take the other 500 megawatts of power.
   "We're seeing growing demand statewide, including rural areas," says Brian W. Hobbs, WFEC's general manager, legal and administration. "We've always been looking at adding capacity

Liquid Asset PepsiCo announced June 14 that it will invest $180 million in a new manufacturing and distribution center at the MidAmerica Industrial Park, in Pryor. The facility, which will produce Gatorade and Propel Fitness Water, will create 280 jobs and have an economic impact north of $5 billion in its first 10 years of operation. The development, scheduled to open in September 2007, will consist of 400,000 sq. ft. (37,160 sq. m.) of production space and 1.1 million sq. ft. (102,190 sq. m.) of warehouse and distribution space.

in the 2010 to 2011 time frame, but we may need additional capacity prior to that." Construction of the plant will last from 2007 through 2011, creating about 1,200 construction jobs. Once online, the facility will add 50 new jobs to the Hugo complex payroll.    Demand is coming primarily from the oil and gas industry in the region, says Hobbs. "We're seeing, particularly in the natural gas fields, a lot of compressor loads, switching from gas- fired or diesel- fired engines to electric motors," he illustrates. The price of natural gas makes it more desirable for producers to sell excess gas capacity than burn it. Also, a number of producers are dealing with emissions issues that in large part are resolved using electric motors.
   Another source of demand for new power capacity is the spate of new commercial development, particularly distribution centers, locating in southern Oklahoma to serve the Southern Plains – especially the booming north Texas market in and around Dallas- Ft. Worth.
   The facility carries a high price tag, but it will operate at full capacity using a relatively inexpensive fuel source – coal – which is rapidly becoming the fuel source of choice for electricity generation.
   "Coal is not nearly as volatile as natural gas, and you can contract with suppliers over longer periods of time," says Hobbs. "It's a more stable fuel product." Coal for the Hugo 2 plant, like that for Hugo 1, will come from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming via rail; shipping coal in from eastern U.S. locations is more problematic. More importantly, the Wyoming coal is cleaner, with a lower sulfur content, which helped it meet all state and federal environmental regulations in the planning stage.