Through Innovation and Investment, Invenergy Powers Pennsylvania’s Energy Future

From its humble beginnings 25 years ago as a team of just eight entrepreneurs, Invenergy has grown into a massive energy success story. The company has since expanded to a team of more than 2,700 employees, and its rapid growth underscores the importance of staying true to a clear mission and vision.

Today, Invenergy is North America’s largest privately held developer, owner, and operator of energy solutions, with more than 220 projects across four continents. The company’s portfolio includes natural gas, solar and wind generation, and energy storage facilities. Invenergy also invests in critical infrastructure—from interregional transmission lines to solar manufacturing—to enhance grid reliability and strengthen energy security.

 The story began over three decades ago, in 1990, when founder Michael Polsky started not his first but second energy company, SkyGen Energy, and met Jim Murphy, who would later become Invenergy’s president and co-founder. Together, they built the foundation of the Invenergy team and began their mission of accelerating the delivery of cleaner, more reliable, affordable energy. 

Invenergy is making a significant impact in Pennsylvania’s energy sector. Located in Jessup, its Lackawanna Energy Center—a 1,483-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas facility—began commercial operations in January 2019. The facility features state-of-the-art high efficiency, air-cooled combustion turbines that provide continuous baseload power to the local grid, producing enough power to serve nearly one million homes. Since construction began in 2016, Lackawanna Energy Center has invested more than $285 million into the local economy, including $170 million in wages and benefits and over $8.8 million annually in community support. 

Invenergy is also investing in the domestic energy supply chain in Pennsylvania. Funded in substantial part by Invenergy’s supply and manufacturing agreement for advanced transmission conductors, Prysmian North America recently cut the ribbon on a 51,000 square foot expansion of its Williamsport factory. Invenergy’s long-term agreement included a $22.5 million investment to expand the overhead conductor facility which will support the largest transmission line in U.S. history – Invenergy’s Grain Belt Express. Notably, the infrastructure project’s first order will exclusively use conductors manufactured with U.S. steel and aluminum.  

“Invenergy’s energy generation and manufacturing investments in Pennsylvania reflect our commitment to meeting the unprecedented growth in energy demand with real solutions,” said Ryan Martini, Senior Manager of Government Affairs at Invenergy. “We believe today’s surging demand—driven by AI, electrification, and domestic manufacturing—requires leveraging every available American-made energy source and Invenergy is ready to meet the moment with our expertise across technologies.”

Beyond economic and supply chain investments, Invenergy supports workforce development in the region. The Lackawanna Energy Center employs 32 full-time operations and maintenance staff and supported more than 1,200 jobs during construction. Additionally, each year, Invenergy awards several scholarships to students at the Lackawanna College School of Petroleum and Natural Gas to support their education and career goals.

“Invenergy develops, builds, and operates every project with a focus on long-term success for the communities where we work,” Martini said. “Our projects create good-paying jobs, support schools and first responders, strengthen the energy grid, and keep costs low for consumers. We also hire locally, creating visible and secure career paths while upholding the highest standards of health and safety at all our sites.”

As Pennsylvania continues to lead in energy innovation and infrastructure development, Invenergy stands ready to be a leader in the field and help power the Commonwealth’s future—building projects that work to meet the region’s energy demands while laying the foundation for a more energy secure tomorrow.