"I think the days of coal being a primary generation source are over," Morningstar analyst Travis Miller said. Carbon Capture The big game changer, however, could be a tax on carbon. 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. 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 John E. Amos Power Plant near Winfield, West Virginia, is being studied for early retirement, along with the Mountaineer Power Plant near New Haven, West Virginia. The 2,900-MW John E. Amos coal-fired power plant near Charleston, W.Va., has been producing power since the early 1970s. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. , said. In the mid-2000s, EPA regulations forced many U.S. power plants to invest in upgrading smokestacks with scrubbers that remove nearly all sulfur dioxide -- a pollutant that can harm human health and contribute to acid rain. All three West Virginia plants must comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys rules for the disposal of ash from burning the coal and the wastewater generated by the plants. "The impact here is going to be increased mining, increased pollution," said Gunnoe. Appalachian Power spokesperson Matheney on Wednesday reiterated this point, underscoring the tight timeframe in which new replacement capacity will be needed if Amos and Mountaineer were retried earlier than planned. Curtis Tate/West Virginia Public Broadcasting Listen By 2026, half of U.S. coal plant capacity will have retired over the course of just 15 years. Duke Energy will retire all of its power plants in the Carolinas that "rely exclusively on coal" or about 9,000 MW of capacity within the next ten years under the six scenarios outlined in its utilities' 2020 integrated resource plans. Nominate an Exceptional West Virginia Teacher! The 1,300-MW Mountaineer Power Plant outside New Haven in Mason County, West Virginia, was completed in 1980. Your Herd from Herald-Dispatch Reach Manager. John Amos Power Plant saves time, money in coal offload process Power plant profile: John E Amos Power Plant, US - Power Technology Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. Neither is old for a coal-fired power plant, with Amos having begun service in 1971 and Mountaineer in 1980. As part of a deal to secure a rate increase in Virginia, Appalachian Power has agreed to examine what would happen if the John Amos Power Plant in Putnam County and the Mountaineer Power Plant in Mason County were taken out of service ahead of schedule. Copyright 2023 West Virginia Public Broadcasting, All Rights Reserved, Report Predicts 3 Coal Plants Could Close Within 5 Years, Grief Rituals And The Alabama Astronaut, Inside Appalachia, The West Virginia Public Service Commission, Report: AEP Companies Coal Management Practices Led To Shortages At 3 Power Plants, Why Keeping Pleasants Idle Doesn't Add Up For State, Local Government, PSC Approves Proposal To Keep Pleasants Power Station From Closing, Granholm Letter Supports Fast Approvals For Mountain Valley Pipeline. The company sought recovery of an estimated $240 million investment to ensure both plants will be in compliance with both federal rules. 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. The Public Service Commission of West Virginia would have a say, and undoubtedly the governor and the Legislature would step in. 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. AEP has committed to reducing its carbon dioxide emissions and obtaining more of its power from renewable resources while also divesting itself of much of its coal-powered generating fleet. But three West Virginia coal-fired power plants owned by Ohio-based American Electric Power may be on borrowed time. Thats what were seeing. More coal-fired power plants face closure as the nation transitions to cleaner sources of energy. "Utilities will have to find a way to manage that risk," Miller said. The SCCs order, notably, adopts nearly all findings and recommendations, contained in a July 2021 report issued by a, . AEP and other power plant operators are retiring coal-fired plants in the region. The plants are aging. Editorial: Two power plants' future becomes uncertain. U.S. Coal Use Has Declined By Half, When Measured By Power Produced - February 4, 2022. "I think we need coal until we have enough, you know, until they figure out an alternate source," said Ricky Brookover, a union boilermaker who works overnight installing upgrades at the Amos facility. Close. At Amos, Appalachian Power has proposed to modify the bottom ash handling system (to prevent discharge of bottom ash transfer water), as well as install two new ash bunkers. Curtis Tate/West Virginia Public Broadcasting Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power did not prudently manage their coal supplies in 2021 and 2022, leading to shortages of fuel and higher electricity costs, a consulting group has concluded. A final decision should be coming in the next several weeks. Aerial image of the Mitchell plant with groundwater testing results near ash waste. The big game changer, however, could be a tax on carbon. Utility customers in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky would pay for the cost. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, With a nameplate rating of 2,933 MW, it is the largest utility in the AEP system. Yet these power plants are vulnerable to the same economic forces that have swept through the industry nationwide in the past decade. Amos Plant is making plans to close the bottom ash pond and move the material to a lined landfill. Low 48F. additional options for reusing and discharging small volumes of bottom ash transport water, provides an exception for retiring units and extends the compliance deadline to a date as soon as possible beginning one year after the rule was published but no later than December 2025, the company said in late July. 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. Sign up for regular updates from the Ohio Valley ReSource. Maria Gunnoe, a West Virginia environmentalist and director of the Mother Jones Community Foundation, sees intensifying impact from global climate change on Appalachian communities. Had natural gas not become so plentiful and inexpensive, one or both might still be operating. The EPA argues in legal documents that Congress gave it sweeping discretion under the Clean Air Act to determine the best system of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to protect human health, and officials said this month that they are poised to release strict new limits on power plant pollution as soon as the Supreme Court rules. American Electric Power, one of the nation's largest utilities which owns the John Amos facility, granted ABC News Live rare access to see firsthand how its workforce of up to 1000 full-time and contract workers generate enough power for two million homes and businesses across three states. Last week, they testified overwhelmingly in support of the plants in a public comment hearing. . Aerial image of the John Amos plant with groundwater testing results near ash waste. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. Because the power generated by the plants supplies other states, AEP is seeking approval for the plan from the state public service commissions in Kentucky and Virginia. Our Management needs improving. Litigation has complicated that plan, but EPA expects to unveil a new approach this summer. "It's weather all over, you know what I mean. 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. Create a password that only you will remember. In separate December 2020submitted cost recovery filings with regulators in West Virginia and Kentucky, two other AEP subsidiariesWheeling Power and Kentucky Powerhad also sought cost recovery for CCR and ELG investments for another West Virginia coal plant, AEPs 1,560-MW, The West Virginia Public Service Commission (WVPSC) on Aug. 4 ultimately approved cost recovery for both CCR and ELG investments at all three plantsAmos, Mountaineer, and Mitchell. According to direct testimony submitted to the SCC earlier this year by. The SCCs order is a new setback for Appalachian Power, which has said cost recovery of CCR and ELG retrofits at the plants would allow their generating units to provide crucially needed capacity and energy value to the utilitys customers in Virginia and West Virginia through 2040. Bloodworth said goals such as the Biden administration's aim for a carbon-free grid by 2035 are "neither achievable nor realistic." AEP subsidiary Kentucky Power converted the Big Sandy power plant near Louisa, Kentucky, from coal to gas a few years ago. The rules require power plants to reduce. With a nameplate rating of 2,933 MW,[1]it is the largest generating plant in the AEP system. 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. Natural gas toppled coal as the nations top electricity source about five years ago, and renewables have caught up. But one of the reports authors predicts they wont last to the end of this decade. The John Amos power plant in Putnam County, West Virginia. Amos Plant - Global Energy Monitor While AEP has made a major effort to pare down its reliance on coal powerkeeping with ambitions it announced in September 2019that it would seek to go net-zero by 2050as of June 30, the AEP system held 12.1 GW of coal-fired capacity, which is still nearly half its total capacity of 24.7 GW. Closing the Mitchell plant in 2028 would save $118 million, it found. Martins analysis suggested that [t]he cumulative net cost of an Amos-only early retirement reaches a peak $880 million, and the Amos and Mountaineer early retirement net cost impact reaches $1.55 billion by 2039. These costs anticipate the quick installation of new resources that would be required to replace the plants combined 4.2-GW capacity, his testimony suggested. Virginia customers would bear the costs of this unprecedented capacity overhaul., Appalachian Power now faces a complex situation. Copyright 2021 West Virginia Public Broadcasting, West Virginia Public Broadcasting | The John Amos Plant has a nameplate rating of 2,933 MW, making it the largest generating plant in the AEP system. Whether they close in 2028, 2040 or sometime between, the three plants will leave a void in the surrounding communities. Six years later, many survivors remain unmoved by the growing threat of climate change and urgent calls to curb greenhouse gasses from burning coal. The plant employs around 300 people with . From that year through 2020, power companies retired 95 gigawatts of that power, nearly a third. The Ohio Valley ReSource gets support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and our partner stations. This pond has been capped and was closed at the end of 2017. None of us take that lightly, Jaffe said. Buy Now. Mayor Kay Summers of Clendenin, West Virginia, says she's haunted by the historic 2016 flood that nearly wiped out her town but still skeptical of the science around climate change. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism If you're interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here. They plan on retiring another 25 gigawatts through 2025. Shutting down either plant would be hard on the economies of their local communities, not to mention the West Virginia coal industry in general. We will take into consideration the three commission orders and the many impacts of all possible options. When AEP has built new fossil fuel-powered plants in recent years, they have been gas burners. Taking Amos and Mountaineer out of service would not be a simple step for AEP. Plant continues to churn out power | News | herald-dispatch.com Over the same period, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates more frequent and more powerful storms in the region have dumped 55% more rain. On July 26, meanwhile, the Biden administration initiated a supplemental rulemaking to strengthen certain discharge limits in the ELG rule. Become a member with your gift of $1,000 or more. And if it means raising our utility bills a little bit, so be it.. esgSubNav, Discover more about S&P Globals offerings, Global Credit and Risk Symposium: Unlocking Possibilities, JW Marriott Sao Paulo Av. person will not be tolerated. Site of an ongoing $1 billion sulfur dioxide abatement project begun . The state's largest coal-fired power facility -- the John Amos plant in Winfield, West Virginia -- sits 40 miles west of Clendenin along the Kanawha River. The SCCs order, notably, adopts nearly all findings and recommendations contained in a July 2021 report issued by a Virginia senior hearing examiner. Be Nice. Zimmer coal-fired plant in Ohio on May 31, 2022, five years ahead of a previous retirement schedule. It has been developed in multiple phases. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. Utilities are rapidly closing coal-fired power plants, and while 2020 and 2021 offer a relative reprieve from retirements compared to 2018 and 2019, utilities already have over 10 GW of announced retirement plans lined up in each of 2022 and 2023. Holladay says the utilities may choose to keep them open and lose money. Still, Holladays model says one of the three units at the Amos plant should already be taken offline because it no longer operates economically. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Choose wisely! Management has assessed technology additions and retrofits to comply with the rule and the impacts of the Federal EPAs recent actions on facilities wastewater discharge permitting for FGD wastewater and bottom ash transport water. Permit modifications for affected facilities were filed in January 2021 that reflect the outcome of that assessment, AEP said. The Congressional Budget Office estimates a $25 a ton carbon tax, indexed to inflation, could raise $1 trillion over a decade. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. 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. This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Appalachian Power is a subsidiary of American Electric Power, which is based in Columbus, Ohio. Union boilermaker Ricky Brookver, 41, of Charleston, West Virginia, works overnight at John Amos Power Plant making facility upgrades to comply with the latest EPA regulations. . A report published by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that the John Amos, Mountaineer and Mitchell plants will no longer be economical to operate in five years. News & Technology for the Global Energy Industry. Fossil fuel energy is still a mainstay in state. Still, power customers will have to pay those costs whenever the plants shut down. . Logan County quartet selected for North-South All Star Basketball Classic, Former Herd star Gore hired at Western Carolina, Chapmanville baseball edges Charleston Catholic, 3-2, Scotty Browning inks with Georgetown College, Tigers, Wildcats' boys and girls tennis squads compete in Cardinal Conference tourney, Chapmanville picks up road win at Tug Valley, 10-5, Logan snaps top-ranked Chapmanville's 14-game winning streak, Cooper's no-hitter propels Man to 6-0 win in rematch against AA No. Appalachian Power president says closing Mitchell plant would save But one of the reports authors predicts they wont last to the end of this decade. Market Intelligence Be Proactive. 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. Das Naes Unidas 14401, Torre Hotel Chcara Santo Antnio So Paulo, BR-SP. Chris Harris/The Herald-Dispatch The John Amos Power Plant in Putnam County, W.Va., Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. It plans to retire 5,574 megawatts of coal generation from now through 2030. . They also support, directly and indirectly, 6,600 jobs. And even 2030 is feeling optimistic at this point, for sure.. The plants are aging. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. I know it can happen, but I just don't think it will happen again.". America's Power President and CEO Michelle Bloodworth said the coal-fired power advocate has long warned of the long-term risks the grid faces from the retirements of large baseload plants and the rise of intermittent sources of energy such as wind and solar. A proposed rule is expected in fall 2022. One megawatt is enough to power roughly 50,000 homes. Cloudy with occasional rain showers. For now, that would mean natural gas. AEPs decision to retrofit Amos and Mountaineer for ELG compliance builds on the 2020 rule, which establishes additional options for reusing and discharging small volumes of bottom ash transport water, provides an exception for retiring units and extends the compliance deadline to a date as soon as possible beginning one year after the rule was published but no later than December 2025, the company said in late July. We had more snow when I was a kid. Utility giant Duke Energy Corp. is among the companies accelerating coal plant retirements to meet company and North Carolina emissions-reduction goals. In the long run, it could mean renewables. Whats Your Heat Exchanger Maintenance IQ? According to GlobalData, who tracks and profiles over 170,000 power plants worldwide, the project is currently active. Appalachian Power is supposed to report the results of its study before the end of 2022. ABC News. If we instead retired one or both of the plants, we would have to spend billions of dollars on replacement capacity much earlier than necessary. Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don't miss out on updates. Theyve towered over the regions communities for decades. Recent months have seen a fresh round of new and accelerated retirement announcements driven by utilities adopting new climate policies and goals, said Seth Feaster, a data analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. In 2007 alone, AEP completed installation of advanced emissions control . The Kentucky PSCs new order, notably, directs Kentucky Power to explain Wheeling Power and Kentucky Powers plans regarding the Mitchell plant by submitting status reports every ten days. Regulators also required Kentucky Power to explain the impact of the conflicting ELG decisions by the West Virginia and Kentucky PSCs on AEPs strategic review of Kentucky Powers assets. West Virginia Coal Plants Need Upgrades. Three States Will Decide Their Taking Amos and Mountaineer out of service would not be a simple step for AEP. The 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 Steam Electric Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) rule. We are required to have a certain level of capacityin other words, we must be ready to provide our customers a certain amount of power at any given time. Adding another level of complexity are the changing federal rule requirementsas new administrations take the helm in Washington, D.C. Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power did not prudently manage their coal supplies in 2021 and 2022, leading to shortages of fuel and higher electricity costs, a consulting group has concluded. Aerial image of the Mountaineer plant with groundwater testing results near ash waste. We won't share it with anyone else. Brookover, a 41-year-old father whose family has deep ties to the coal industry, says he doesn't oppose the EPA but questions a drive to address a climate crisis he doesn't see. Both were smaller, older plants that didnt produce enough power to justify the investment needed to meet modern environmental standards. Click #isupportlocal for more information on supporting our local journalists. "The coal industry has always kept our people in the dark, and I don't look for it to change. As noted here before, the coal-fired fleet in this region is expected to reach its scheduled retirement age sometime around 2040. "It's really a tough space for many of these plants to operate in.". The West Virginia Public Service Commission must decide in the coming weeks whether to approve an environmental compliance surcharge on electricity customers. John E. Amos Power Plant is a three-unit coal-fired power plant owned and operated by Appalachian Power. Request WVPB Education to attend or host an event! The model predicts one of Mitchells two units would close in two years, and the other in three. It's one of 174 coal-fired plants nationwide that could be impacted by the Supreme Court's decision. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. John E Amos Power Plant is a 2,932.6MW coal fired power project. Report Predicts 3 Coal Plants Could Close Within 5 Years Both are owned and operated by Appalachian Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, and both burn coal to generate electricity. These Coal Plants Need Upgrades. Three States Will Decide Their Fate - WKMS Last year, AEP shut down the Conesville Plant in Coshocton, in Eastern Ohio. We are currently in the midst of a $1.4 billion scrubbers construction project for the John E. Amos plant alone.". What shuttering coal plants means for energy jobs - CNBC 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. The John Amos power station in West Virginia. Thats seven years before the three West Virginia plants would close if utility customers pay for their upgrades. For FGD wastewater, the 2020 rule established numeric BAT effluent limitations on mercury, arsenic, selenium, and nitrate/nitrite. Low 43F. Our next steps will be to evaluate our options in light of those orders, 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, a spokesperson said. It predicts Mountaineers single unit would shut down in three years. 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 plant operates three landfills and six unlined surface impoundments that were commissioned in 1971. Coal-fired power plants peaked at 314 gigawatts of electricity in 2011, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Slated retirements to cut US coal fleet to less than half 2015 capacity by 2035, IR In Focus | Episode 4: Insights to Navigate Investor Activism, Masters of Risk | Episode 2: A Discussion with Ilya Khaykin, According to Market Intelligence, April 2023, The 2,900-MW John E. Amos coal-fired power plant near Charleston, W.Va., has been producing power since the early 1970s. Eighteen states led by West Virginia and a coalition of U.S. energy companies want strict limits on EPA authority to issue rules that could transform entire industries. Its just its the money would be so much better spent on going down a clean energy path that would produce more jobs and put more money in the pockets of ratepayers, he said. In that report, the examiner recommended that the SCC should approve only recovery of CCR-related costs. Amos Plant uses dry fly ash handling and no longer requires use of the fly ash pond. expenses from AEPs Virginia customers associated with federal rules regulating the disposal of coal ash at the two plants in West Virginia. Comprehensive energy legislation in North Carolina calls for Duke Energy to retire more than 5,000 MW of capacity at five coal-fired power plants by Dec. 31, 2030, with retirement and replacement plans subject to review by the North Carolina Utilities Commission. West Virginia's public utilities commission last year gave the John Amos plant and two other aging coal-fired facilities a new lease on life, approving more than $448 million in environmental upgrades to keep them burning coal until 2040. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. "I grew up in coal country. West Virginia Coal Plants Need Upgrades. Three States Will Decide Their It may not be that simple, however.
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