Maidsville, W.Va. – – Longview Power has filed application for a siting certificate with the West Virginia Public Service Commission for the construction and operation of a wholesale electric generating facility comprised of a 1,200-megawatt (MW) gas-fired combined cycle power plant and a 70-MW, utility grade solar installation, company officials announced today.
Known as the Longview Power Clean Energy Center, the facility is proposed to be constructed on property the company owns adjacent to its state-of-the-art 710-MW supercritical coal-fired power plant in Monongalia County, near Maidsville, West Virginia.
“Longview Power currently operates one of the cleanest coal-fired power plants in the world and upon completion of the new project, the Longview Power Clean Energy Center will be a global model for clean fossil and renewable energy development,” said Jeffrey Keffer, chief executive officer of Longview Power. “This first-of-its-kind project will use regionally produced Marcellus gas and the solar facility will be one of the largest in Appalachia.”
Keffer said the project will cost $1.1 billion to construct, create 5,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction, and employee compensation will exceed $360 million. The facility will pay an additional $2 million annually in PILOT and tax payments, over and above the $3 million currently generated by the coal plant. Longview expects to add more than 30 additional skilled, high-paying power generation jobs to operate the expansion facilities.
Commenting on the announcement, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito said, “In addition to all of the jobs and economic growth this project creates, it also positions West Virginia as a world leader when it comes to producing electricity in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner while proving that coal and gas will continue to power America for decades to come. It’s the perfect example of how our state continues to contribute to our national all-of-the-above energy strategy.”
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said, “In 2017, I brought U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry to tour Longview Power because I wanted to show him the innovative work being done in West Virginia. I have always supported an all-of-the-above energy policy and am confident West Virginia workers will achieve this at Longview.”
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice offered, “I’ve said many times that we need to be an ‘all-in’ energy state here in West Virginia. The more ways we are able to use our abundant resources, the more we will be able to build on the momentum we’re already seeing in our economy and this kind of complete commitment is exactly what we need to truly put West Virginia on the map.”
The proposed 1,200 MW combined cycle gas-fired power plant will incorporate advanced turbine technology and existing infrastructure to produce low cost electricity from abundant and local Marcellus natural gas reserves. The facility will use 59 million dekatherms of natural gas per year.
The 70 MW utility grade solar facility will use over 185,000 solar panels on 300 acres and be one of the largest solar generation facilities in Appalachia. The solar facility will be constructed in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Longview’s 710 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant can generate electricity more cleanly, efficiently and at more competitive rates than nearly all other fossil fuel generators. The facility generates enough electricity to power almost 700,000 homes.
Once the Longview Power Clean Energy Center is fully operational, the project is anticipated to produce over 2,000 MW of low-cost electricity, serving nearly 2 million homes in northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania.
Longview Power is an independent power producer that operates in the wholesale PJM market.
For additional information, visit the project website at www.longviewpower.com, or contact Bryan Brown at (304) 546-5500.