Pleasants Power Station

Pleasants Power Station
Pleasants Power Station viewed from West Virginia Route 2 in 2015
Country United States
Location Belmont, West Virginia
Coordinates 39°22′01″N 81°17′41″W / 39.36694°N 81.29472°W / 39.36694; -81.29472Coordinates: 39°22′01″N 81°17′41″W / 39.36694°N 81.29472°W / 39.36694; -81.29472
Status Operational
Commission date Unit 1: 1979
Unit 2: 1980
Decommission date Units 1–2: June 1, 2022 (planned)
Owner(s) FirstEnergy
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Coal
Power generation
Nameplate capacity 1,300 MW

Pleasants Power Station is a 1.3-gigawatt (1,300 MW) coal power plant located near Belmont, West Virginia in Pleasants County, West Virginia. The plant is owned by FirstEnergy and began operations in 1979. The power plant was the site of the Willow Island disaster in 1978.[1]

History

In what is considered to be the deadliest construction accident in United States history, Cooling Tower #2 collapsed on April 27, 1978 as it was still under construction. 51 workers were killed in the accident.[1]

Pleasants was completed in 1980 at a cost of $677 million.[1] There are two cooling towers, each 428 feet (130 m) high, and two 1,000-foot (305 m)-high chimneys.[2] In 2008, Allegheny Energy completed a $105 million project which saw the installation of flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) technology which reduced sulfur dioxide (SO
2) emissions at Pleasants.[3]

In December 2016, FirstEnergy announced they were putting Pleasants up for sale. FirstEnergy had plans to sell Pleasants to its subsidiaries, Potomac Edison and Monongahela Power for $195 million. The sale would help meet its subsidiaries projected shortfalls of electricity demand.[4] Although the West Virginia Public Service Commission gave a conditional approval of the sale, it was rejected by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the sale did not meet public interest.[5][6] The sale of Pleasants was cancelled the following month.[7]

Forthcoming closure

It was announced in February 2018 that FirstEnergy will either sell or close Pleasants by January 1, 2019. FirstEnergy cited the failure of the transfer sale earlier this year as the reason for the closure.[8] PJM Interconnection, a regional grid operator, approved of the closure. It found closing the plant would not cause problems in grid reliability.[9] To starve off the plant's closure, FirstEnergy attempted to transfer Pleasants to its bankrupt subsidiary, FirstEnergy Solutions.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ward, Ken Jr. (April 27, 2008). "'It was gone': String of problems led to 51 deaths at Willow Island". Charleston Gazette. Archived from the original on February 7, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Pleasants Power Station: Fact Sheet" (PDF). Allegheny Energy Supply. 2003. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Allegheny Energy Completes Pleasants Power Station Environmental Project". BusinessWire. March 20, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  4. ↑ McVey, John (September 6, 2017). "PSC sets public hearing on power plant sale". Martinsburg Journal. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  5. ↑ Garland, Max (January 30, 2018). "PSC gives conditional approval for Pleasants plant deal after FERC rejection". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  6. ↑ Dunlap, Brett (January 16, 2018). "Pleasants Power plant sale rejected by FERC". The Marietta Times. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  7. ↑ Mancini, Jess (February 7, 2018). "Company: Pleasants Power Station deal off". The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  8. ↑ Mancini, Jess (February 17, 2018). "Pleasants Power Station to be sold or deactivated". The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  9. ↑ Patterson, Brittany (March 21, 2018). "Regional Grid Operator OKs W.Va. Power Plant Closure". WV Public Broadcasting. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  10. ↑ Kowalski, Kathiann M. (September 7, 2018). "FirstEnergy's attempt to shift plant to bankrupt subsidiary". Energy News Network. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
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