West Virginia to Retire Several Older Power Plants, Plans New Ones

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--West Virginia is undergoing some major changes in power generation. Industrial Info's North American Power Generation Database shows six old plants that are slated for demolition and dismantlement, as well as new plants that are in early development, including those fed by natural gas and hydropower.

Out With the Old
American Electric Power Company (NYSE:AEP) (Columbus, Ohio) is in the early stages of planning for the dismantlement of three plants. The Kanawha River Power Station and Kammer Power Station are scheduled for closure in June 2015, while the Philip Sporn Power Station is scheduled for closure in January 2015. Each plant would be dismantled and removed. The combined power output of these plants is about 2,600 megawatts (MW).

View Project Report - 300089177 300089033 300089220

Similarly, FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) (Akron, Ohio) has three plants that are slated for demolition and dismantlement, including the Albright Power Station, the Willow Island Power Station and the Rivesville Power Station. The difference is that these three plants are already closed. None of them have generated any power for more than two years. The plants had a combined 650-MW capacity.

View Project Report - 300133787 300091703 300091601

These six demolition and dismantlement projects are expected to have a combined cost of about $150 million.

In With the New
Coming in with a price tag of $615 million, and an expected generation capacity of 525 MW, is the Moundsville Energy Center. Moundsville Power LLC (Moundsville, West Virginia) is planning a natural gas-fired, 2-on-1 configuration, combined-cycle power plant, consisting of two 216-MW General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) FMS7001FA.04 natural gas-fired combustion turbine generators, with heat recovery steam generators, and a 93-MW General Electric steam turbine generator.

Last month, local county commissioners approved a payment in lieu of tax agreement with Moundsville Power. The plant has until June 2018 to start generating power, to be sold by the regional transmission organization PJM Interconnection (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania). This project is expected to begin construction in the middle of next year.

View Project Report - 300139503

With a slightly lower cost of $600 million, the Mount Storm Hydro Pumped Storage project by Gridflex Energy LLC (Boise, Idaho) is in early development. Construction of the 300- to 500-MW, reversible pumped-storage hydro project would involve a closed-loop, pumped-storage hydro powerhouse, with a variety of possible combinations of reversible pump-storage turbine generators. As with all hydro projects, this one will take a lot of time in development and is not expected to begin construction for several years.

View Project Report - 300039356

Industrial Info's North American Industrial Project Database shows about $2 billion in power projects that are being planned in West Virginia. Customers should consult Industrial Info's North American Power Project Database for more information.

If your company is developing a power project that you feel deserves some extra attention, feel free to contact Brock Ramey, North American Power Research Manager, at Industrial Info.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.