Pleasants Power Station

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 Energy Harbor and began operations in 1979. The power plant was the site of the Willow Island disaster in 1978.[1]

Pleasants Power Station
Pleasants Power Station viewed from West Virginia Route 2 in 2015
CountryUnited States
LocationBelmont, West Virginia
Coordinates39°22′01″N 81°17′41″W
StatusOperational
Commission dateUnit 1: 1979
Unit 2: 1980
Decommission dateUnits 1–2: June 1, 2023 (planned)
Owner(s)Energy Harbor
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Power generation
Nameplate capacity1,300 MW
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons

History
Main article: Willow Island disaster

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 (SO2) emissions at Pleasants.[3] FirstEnergy would assume ownership of Pleasants following its merger with Allegheny Energy in 2011.[4]

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.[5] Although the West Virginia Public Service Commission gave a conditional approval of the sale in January 2018, it was rejected by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the sale did not meet public interest.[6][7] The sale of Pleasants was cancelled the following month.[8] This decision forced FirstEnergy to consider either selling or closing Pleasants by the end of 2018.[9] Ownership was then transferred to FirstEnergy Solutions in September 2018 with closure delayed to June 1, 2022.[10] To stave off a potential closure, a bill passed by the West Virginia Legislature and signed into law by Governor Jim Justice would give FirstEnergy Solutions $12.5 million in annual tax breaks.[11]

FirstEnergy's generating division Energy Harbor (previously called FirstEnergy Solutions) announced in March 2022 that it would close both units by June 2023.[12] However, the West Virginia Public Service Commission approved a subsidy deal under which Mon Power ratepayers will pay $3 million a month to keep the power plant from closing.[13] However, the plant ceased operation in June, 2023 and the subsidy deal was later abandoned in July as Quantum Pleasants purchased the power plant with plans to use the hydrogen byproducts of their graphite production to power the plant.[14][15] Until the plant is upgraded to use hydrogen it has resumed coal operations starting Aug 31, 2023 under the new ownership.[16]

References
  1. 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 5, 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. "Allegheny Energy, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Feb 11, 2010" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  5. McVey, John (September 6, 2017). "PSC sets public hearing on power plant sale". Martinsburg Journal. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  6. Garland, Max (January 30, 2018). "PSC gives conditional approval for Pleasants plant deal after FERC rejection". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  7. Dunlap, Brett (January 16, 2018). "Pleasants Power plant sale rejected by FERC". The Marietta Times. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  8. Mancini, Jess (February 7, 2018). "Company: Pleasants Power Station deal off". The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  9. Mancini, Jess (February 17, 2018). "Pleasants Power Station to be sold or deactivated". The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  10. Zuckerman, Jake (October 18, 2018). "FirstEnergy spokeswoman: Pleasants Power Station to remain open until June 2022". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  11. Adams, Steven Allen (July 31, 2019). "Governor Justice Signs Tax Break for Pleasants Power Station". The Intelligencer. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  12. "Energy Harbor Transitions to 100% Carbon Free Energy Infrastructure Company in 2023". energyharbor.com. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  13. Tate, Curtis (2023-04-25). "PSC Approves Proposal To Keep Pleasants Power Station From Closing". West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  14. Tate, Curtis (3 August 2023). "Pleasants Power Station, Once Facing Closure, Now Has A New Owner". West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  15. Adams, Steven Allan. "Pleasants Power transfer to Omnis finalized". theintelligencer.net. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  16. "New owner restarts West Virginia coal-fired power plant and intends to convert it to hydrogen use". Waco Tribune-Herald. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
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