The Biden administration argues that Congress gave EPA significant leeway under the Clean Air Act to write regulations to stave off climate catastrophe. Theres also the delicate matter of what happens to the communities that depend on the plants for jobs and tax revenue, as well as the coal mines that supply them. Close. Doing the work on their wastewater systems would delay the cost of retiring the plants and finding new sources of power to replace them. The Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) approved Appalachian Power Co. (APCo) and Wheeling Power Co.s (WPCos), Just two weeks after FirstEnergy Corp. said it would close more than 2 GW of six older coal-fired, American Electric Power, one of the premier generating utilities in the U.S., is caught between a deregulated rockwholesale, Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC)on Aug. 23 rattled, American Electric Powers (AEPs) plans to operate the 2.9-GW John Amos and 1.3-GW Mountaineer coal power plants through 2040 when it partly denied cost recovery for expenses that the West Virginia plants need to comply with the federal. A final decision should be coming in the next several weeks. Utility giant Duke Energy Corp. is among the companies accelerating coal plant retirements to meet company and North Carolina emissions-reduction goals. Cloudy with showers. Closures already announced by power generators will drop that figure to 136.5 GW by 2035, or about 47.8% of the size of the fleet at the beginning of 2015. Appalachian Power, the AEP subsidiary that owns the two plants, warned in its last 10-Q filing, dated July 22, that denial of ELG investment recovery could cause the company to close the generating facilities by 2028more than a decade earlier than their planned retirement in 2040. For Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power, the plans show that both American Electric Power subsidiaries will continue to rely on the John Amos, Mitchell and Mountaineer coal-fired plants. With a nameplate rating of 2,933 MW,[1]it is the largest generating plant in the AEP system. The CCR-only option at Amos and Mountaineerwhich anticipates both plants would retire by 2028would cost a total $72.7 million at Amos (including $52.1 million in capital costs, $3.7 million in other charges, and $16.9 million in asset retirement obligation [ARO] costs), and $52.1 million for the Mountaineer plant (including $19.3 million in capital costs, $3.4 million in other charges, and $29.5 million in ARO costs). Coal-fired plants also produce less power than theyre capable of generating. . Report: AEP Companies' Coal Management Practices Led To Shortages At 3 Mullins runs West Virginia's largest commercial solar installation in the shadow of the John Amos power plant. Until that rule is finalized, current regulations, including the 2015 and 2020 rules will be implemented and enforced, the EPA said. After the closure, a series of channels drained the former pond site, connecting to an . I know it can happen, but I just don't think it will happen again.". We have many factors to consider, Matheney said. Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don't miss out on updates. Now comes the hard part as Putnam and Mason counties wait for the study results and for the involved interest groups the bureaucracy, politicians, environmental groups, the coal industry and others to weigh in and prepare for battle. But in October 2020, the Trump administration, On July 26, meanwhile, the Biden administration, AEPs decision to retrofit Amos and Mountaineer for ELG compliance builds on the 2020 rule, which establishes. It predicts Mountaineers single unit would shut down in three years. (Nationwide less than a quarter of electricity is produced from coal.). Adding another level of complexity are the changing federal rule requirementsas new administrations take the helm in Washington, D.C. "The question is, what replaces coal generation?". We will take into consideration the three commission orders and the many impacts of all possible options. From that year through 2020, power companies retired 95 gigawatts of that power, nearly a third. Three States Will Decide Their Fate. PDF CLOSURE PLAN - AEP.com The company sought recovery of an estimated $240 million investment to ensure both plants will be in compliance with both federal rules. With a nameplate rating of 2,933 MW, it is the largest utility in the AEP system. Editorial: Two power plants' future becomes uncertain. Moodys Investors Service forecast in 2019 that coal would be only 11% of electric power generation by 2030. "But step one is to plan the retirement for coal units.". We told the Virginia SCC that making the environmental investments for both CCR and ELG compliance at Amos and Mountaineer plants is more beneficial for customers than making only the CCR compliance investments, retiring the plants in 2028, and finding replacement capacity, she said. The plant employs around 300 people with . U.S. Coal Use Has Declined By Half, When Measured By Power Produced We had more snow when I was a kid. That fee would pay for wastewater treatment projects that are required to keep the plants in operation through 2040. The top 10 emitting power plants in America - E&E News When AEP has built new fossil fuel-powered plants in recent years, they have been gas burners. The plants three units were completed between 1971 and 1973. Create a password that only you will remember. With a carbon tax, the Sierra Club projects that utility customers could save $2.4 billion if Amos closed in 2028; $1.5 billion if Amos and Mountaineer closed and $350 million if Mitchell closed. Now comes the hard part as Putnam and Mason counties wait for the study results and for the involved interest groups the bureaucracy, politicians, environmental groups, the coal industry and others to weigh in and prepare for battle. The plants are aging. They generated the electricity for homes around the Ohio Valley. Were going to have additional hundreds of million dollars of investment thats going to be stranded and have to be paid for by the ratepayers, he said. Had natural gas not become so plentiful and inexpensive, one or both might still be operating. Matt Bevin and former President Donald Trump. The Tennessee Valley Authority shuttered the Paradise Fossil Plant in Western Kentucky, in spite of pressure from Kentuckys then-Gov. Even the coal-friendly West Virginia legislature approved two bills in the past two sessions to encourage the development of solar power in the state. Meanwhile, the cost of wind and solar energy has plummeted. Inside and outside our model, 2040 is hard to imagine, said Scott Holladay, an associate professor of economics at the University of Tennessee. Both plants handle part of Appalachian Powers baseload needs in Virginia and West Virginia, so their output would have to be replaced with a dependable source. Coal-fired power plants, including two in Pa., to close after new Coal ash disposal sites around the region pose environmental and health risks. or anything. But while the SCC moved to approve AEPs recovery of costs related to the federal Coal Combustion and Residuals (CCR), the commission denied about $4.2 million of expenses AEP had proposed for projects that would help the plants comply with the ELG rule. "To allow un-elected bureaucrats just to decide under the guise of good government that's not right. "Coal and solar have to coexist here.". Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. The coal it does not consume will not generate severance tax revenue for state and local government. Editorial: WV about to lose another coal-fired power plant You have permission to edit this article. The announcement comes after the plant failed to secure any capacity revenues in PJM's latest auction. Its impact on the. that is degrading to another person. Editorial: Two power plants' future becomes uncertain Gov. Justice signs four coal-related bills at John Amos Power Plant in "It's really a tough space for many of these plants to operate in.". If an agreement is reached, Mon Power ratepayers will pay a $3 million a month surcharge to keep the plants 146 employees working and the plant in operating condition. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Well determine the best path forward to meet the resource needs in each state, and return to the commissions if necessary for consideration of our updated costs and plans., Entergy: Hurricane Ida Took Out Eight Critical High-Voltage Transmission Lines, Drought-Crippled Hoover Dam, Glen Canyon Hydropower Plants Operating at Substantially Decreased Capacity, 3D Printing: More Than Just a Cool Process, It Offers Real Benefits. Don't Threaten. A proposed rule is expected in fall 2022. In addition to avoiding replacement capacity costs, the plants also serve to protect customers from potentially volatile energy costs, with energy being the actual amount of electricity used from whatever source. Keena Mullins, co-founder of Revolt Energy, says solar power has a future in West Virginia if policymakers move to diversify the state's energy portfolio. Under the Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the first updates to federal effluent limitation guidelines since 1982 in November 2015, setting stringent Best Available Technology (BAT) effluent limitations and pretreatment standards for existing sources (PSES) as they apply to bottom ash transport water and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater. Amos Plant is making plans to close the bottom ash pond and move the material to a lined landfill. estimated the states power plants account for $4.8 billion in direct output, $725 million in wages and $97.3 million tax in revenue. Appalachian Power may have used the rate process in Virginia to begin the process of accelerating its move toward natural gas and renewables at the expense of coal. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. The West Virginia Public Service Commission must decide in the coming weeks whether to approve an environmental compliance surcharge on electricity customers. Be Truthful. Thats what were seeing. And so it's a tough spot if you own these utilities, he said, so I understand why they're struggling to think about what their options are.. "Every time it rains and storms, I'm lying awake at night. And even 2030 is feeling optimistic at this point, for sure.. AEP shut down the Conesville Plant in Coshocton, A 2018 investigation by the Ohio Valley ReSource and partner station WFPL. Closing the Mitchell plant in 2028 would save $118 million, it found. According to Appalachian Powers testimony, the Virginia jurisdictional share of the ELG investments would be about $60 million. Both are owned and operated by Appalachian Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, and both burn coal to generate electricity. The model predicts one of Mitchells two units would close in two years, and the other in three. The John E. Amos coal-fired power plant in Poca, West Virginia. Use the 'Report' link on Be Nice. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), AEP subsidiaries Wheeling Power and Appalachian Power have asked. And even 2030 is feeling optimistic at this point, for sure.. Amos and Mountaineer are valuable to customers as capacity resources, Appalachian Power spokesperson Jeri Matheney explained to POWER on Aug. 25. The early and simultaneous retirement of nearly two-thirds of the companys capacity would expose the company and our customers to an imprudent level of uncertainty and market volatility, she said. . The company wants to spend $250 million on wastewater treatment projects at the coal-burning plants to bring them into compliance with federal environmental rules. The John Amos Power Plant, operated by American Electric Power, sits on 400 acres along the Kanawha River in Winfield, WVa. And so its a tough spot if you own these utilities, he said, so I understand why theyre struggling to think about what their options are.. Retiring a large power plant requires the approval of several parties. AEP subsidiary Kentucky Power converted the Big Sandy power plant near Louisa, Kentucky, from coal to gas a few years ago. Similar projects are slated for the Mountaineer plant, including a modification of the bottom ash handling system, installation of a new ash bunker, and a retrofit of a new ultrafiltration system to the existing FGD treatment system. "I really feel that when I was a kid it was worse than it is now. Our Management needs improving. Hydropower Experiencing Climate Impacts From Drought, Flooding, NRC Cites Problems at Vogtle, May Increase Project Oversight, West Virginia PSC Approves Continued Operation of Three AEP Coal Power Plants Through 2040, FirstEnergy, AEP, and GenOn Continue Trimming Coal-Fired Fleet Size, AEPs John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant Earns POWERs Highest Honor, American Electric Power: A Coal Powerhouse Repositions Itself, Green Hydrogen Ultrapure Water EDI Solutions, Entergy Grows Revenue, Increases Customer Satisfaction with Value-Added Services, Flexible & Reliable: Optimal performance amid variable power generation. We are first in your inbox with the most important news in the industry―keeping you smarter and one-step ahead in this ever-changing and competitive market. When AEP has built new fossil fuel-powered plants in recent years, they have been gas burners. Theyve also embraced renewables. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. Had natural gas not become so plentiful and inexpensive, one or both might still be operating. West Virginia is challenging EPA efforts to blunt the impact of climate change. The John Amos Plant has a nameplate rating of 2,933 MW, making it the largest generating plant in the AEP system. John E. Amos Power Plant - Wikipedia Amos, a 2,930-MW coal plant located near the Kanawha River in Putnam County, West Virginia, is the AEP systems largest generating plant. In a statement to POWER this week, however, Appalachian Power said that a number of options still exist for the two plants, given that regulators in West Virginia recently approved cost recovery at CCR and ELG investments at both plants.

Samantha Medina Romeo Santos Wife, Helen Serafinowicz Graham Linehan, Persimmon Balerno House, Articles J