FirstEnergy Announces Planned Closure of Two Coal-Fired Plants

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule has struck again. FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) (Akron, Ohio) has announced that it will retire two coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania with a combined generating capacity of 2,080 megawatts (MW), representing about 10% of the company's existing generating capacity.

The plants to be closed are the Hatfield's Ferry Power Station in Masontown, Pennsylvania, which has three 530-MW coal-fired units, and the Mitchell Power Station in Courtney, which has a 278-MW coal-fired unit and an 82-MW oil/gas-fired unit. FirstEnergy expects to close the plants by October 9, pending approval by PJM Interconnection, the grid operator in the area.

In a press release, the company cited the low market price for electricity and the cost of equipping the stations to comply with the MATS rule, which according to the company would cost in the neighborhood of $275 million. As it stands, FirstEnergy reports that it will be spending approximately $650 million on MATS-related projects.

Among the largest of the company's planned emissions control projects is the $250 million retrofit of two selective catalytic reduction systems at the 1,172-MW Fort Martin Power Station in Maidsville, West Virginia, to reduce NOx emissions. The project is expected to kick off in early 2014.

FirstEnergy says that following the deactivation of the plants, it will have a generating capacity of more than 18,000 MW, which will include 56% coal-fired generation.

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