Officials at a Maryland-based power plant development company announced Monday they secured $700 million to fund construction of a Cambria County electric generating station, which will power more than 1 million homes when completed.

Competitive Power Ventures Inc. recently closed on the $700 million that has been made available from a group of 16 international lenders, company officials said.

That funding will cover a portion of the cost to create the 30-acre facility — called the CPV Fairview Energy Center — that will be constructed on an 86-acre piece of land in Jackson Township, company spokeswoman Jennifer Villarreal said.

“It doesn’t include all of the project’s costs,” she said, explaining company policy does not allow the entire cost to be publicized.

The planned 1,050-megawatt energy center, powered by natural gas and ethane, will employ high-tech equipment, which will allow it to run at peak efficiency, Villarreal said.

The completed center will use two General Electric 7HA gas turbines, the company’s “largest and most efficient gas turbine,” to generate enough electricity to power about 1 million average homes, according to a GE news release.

The project likely will create 300 to 500 construction jobs — many local, Villarreal said.

She mentioned specifically Charles J. Merlo Inc., a Mineral Point construction company, that will assist with construction.

About 20 to 25 employees will be needed to operate the center, officials said, noting those positions will result in combined salaries and benefits of about $3 million to $4 million per year.

Competitive Power Ventures first took interest in the site in 2014, and Villarreal called securing funds a “critical milestone.”

“This is something that has been in the works for years,” she said.

Workers are to begin clearing the site, a former petroleum storage facility, this summer, and construction of the center likely will begin this fall,

Villarreal said.

Competitive Power Ven­tures’ goal is to have the center in operation by the first quarter of 2020, she said.

Villarreal said part of the planning phase included community outreach, and, so far, area residents have been supportive.

“It’s been incredibly positive,” she said.

Jackson Township manager David Hirko is among those looking forward to the project and the opportunities it will create.

“It’s going to be nice for the whole area, a lot of economic spin off,” Hirko said. “Once they start construction, there will be a lot of activity around town.”

Jackson Township Super­visor Eric Dreikorn said an agreement with Competitive Power Ventures will lead to additional township revenue each year once the center is operational.

That money could help pay for needed township improvements, such as road repairs.

“Having that power plant in our backyard is definitely good,” Dreikorn said. “It’s quite a bit of money that’s going to come in and benefit us.”

The project also drew the attention of state lawmakers, who said they are pleased to see local development.

“This facility will ignite job growth for real family-sustaining jobs,” said state Sen. Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria, in a statement.

State Rep. Frank Burns, D-Johnstown, also released a statement on the project’s economic benefits.

“This project takes advantage of abundant natural gas to create local, cleaner electricity; puts 30 acres to productive industrial use and creates hundreds of good-paying construction jobs,” Burns said.

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.