Oct. 2—dbeard @dominionpost.com MORGANTOWN — FirstEnergy sisters Mon Power and Potomac Edison are exploring having a gas-fired power plant in service by 2031. And the Gas & OI Association of West Virginia is thrilled with the prospect.
FirstEnergy first alluded to the possibility of building a gas-fired plant back in March.
FirstEnergy President and CEO Brian Tierney said then that it was looking at the possible future retirements of the 1, 098 megawatt Fort Martin plant in Maidsville and the 1, 984 MW Harrison plant in Haywood, and replacing them with combined-cycle plants fueled by natural gas.
Mon Power and Potomac Energy fleshed that out a bit in their 10-year Integrated Resource Plan filed with the state Public Service Commission on Monday.
They say they plan to keep both coal-fired plants open through 2035.
In addition, they are exploring the addition of a 1, 200 MW natural gas combined cycle unit around 2031 (they later say more specifically a 2031 in-service date); adding 70 MW of utility-scale solar by 2028 ; and using short-term power purchases to ensure reliable service until new resources are available.
They caution: “This plan is not a commitment to specific resource additions or other courses of action. The IRP is guided by three main objectives: keeping customer costs as low as possible ; maintaining a reliable and resilient power supply ; supporting local investment and job creation while reducing environmental emissions.
A combined cycle unit, they explain, uses both gas and steam combustion turbines to generate electricity. In the gas combustion turbine, air is pressurized using a compressor, injected with fuel and ignited to generate high-temperature pressurized gas that expands to drive the turbine and generate electricity. The waste heat from the gas turbine is then used to generate steam to drive a steam combustion turbine for additional electricity generation.
The companies’ serve 40 counties and more than 556, 000 customers within 15, 700 square miles of northern West Virginia and the state’s northern and eastern panhandles, they said in their IRP.
The IRP spans 447 pages. The companies explain that they examined various scenarios considering customer load requirements, commodity prices, and supply side alternative costs — including fossil fuels, renewable resources and advanced generation alternatives — to come up with a “preferred plan.”
“The companies’ preferred plan balances reliability, affordability and positive local and environmental impacts while providing flexibility to adapt as market conditions and regulations evolve, ” they said.
Power demand is growing. They noted that their most recent summer and winter peaks are the all-time highest recorded peaks in both cases. Over the IRP forecast period of 2026-2035, they project the residential customer count increase at a rate of 0.7 % per year and retail sales to grow 0.4 % per year.
“Also, should additional data center growth occur, this forecast could change drastically as the load requirements of most data centers are significant, ” they said.
They briefly discuss FirstEnergy’s Energize365 program, a “multi-year grid evolution initiative designed to deliver the power our customers depend on today while also meeting the challenges of tomorrow.”
In 2024, FirstEnergy invested $4.5 billion in its system, representing an increase of more than 20 % compared to 2023, they said. It plans to invest an additional $28 billion through the program between 2025 and 2029.
“Through Energize365, FirstEnergy is forging a smarter, more secure and reliable grid that can meet and exceed reliability targets. Through the addition of a 1, 200 MW natural gas CC plant, the companies would be positioned with more energy and capacity than needed to meet forecasted requirements.”
They add, “The attractiveness of this scenario would increase should it become necessary to retire one or both existing fossil plants because of potential future environmental regulations.”
Fort Martin was built in 1967, with its two turbine generating units coming online in 1967 and 1968. Harrison was built in 1972, with its three turbines coming online in 1972, 1973 and 1974. In March, Tierney said FirstEnergy expects to retire Fort Martin in 2035 ; and Harrison in 2040.
Other than noting that both plants are expected to remain open through 2035, the IRP says no more about that. It does include, as an appendix, a study of costs to keep both operating through 2040 and beyond.
The IRP comments on the evolving power supply mix, where coal and nuclear have been the go-to baseload energy sources. But intermittent generation — solar and wind — is growing while “new coal and traditional nuclear plants are no longer economically feasible due to evolving regulations and customer needs.”
So the IRP doesn’t include new coal or traditional nuclear, they said. “In their place, the natural gas combined cycle resource type is considered as an intermediate power plant that has the ability to adjust its output as electricity demand fluctuates.”
On the solar side of the IRP, the companies already have three solar sites in service: 18.89 MW at Fort Martin ; 5.5 MW at Rivesville ; and 5.75 MW at Marlowe, Berkeley County. Two more are planned: 8.4 MW at Wylie Ridge in Hancock County and 11.5 MW near Davis in Tucker County. The five sites will total about 50 MW.
Wylie Ridge, adjacent to a Mon Power substation in Weirton, Hancock County, 8.4 MW ; and a 44-acre reclaimed strip mine property near Davis in Tucker County, 11.5 MW. The IRP mentions 70 MW by 2028, indicating another 20 MW on top of the 50.
GO-WV issued a release praising FirstEnergy’s gas-fired plant plan shortly after the PSC posted the IRP on Monday.
“FirstEnergy’s proposal can power more than a million homes and recognizes the critical role West Virginia natural gas must play in meeting today’s rapidly growing energy needs, ensuring reliability, and keeping energy affordable for residents and businesses, ” GO-WV said.
GO-WV President and CEO Charlie Burd said, “We applaud First Energy for recognizing that natural gas is the fuel of our future and key to keeping energy affordable and reliable for West Virginia consumers. This announcement is a strong step toward putting more of West Virginia’s own natural gas resources to work here at home.”
GO-WV’s release included comments from various leaders in the state’s natural gas sector.
Morgan O’Brien, president and CEO of Morgantown-based Hope Gas, said, “With abundant and affordable natural gas right below our feet, it makes sense to add this natural resource to the already important and valuable West Virginia coal plants to create additional power the families across West Virginia and our region need for their everyday lives. In addition, energy is a necessary component for economic development, and I applaud First Energy for the actions they are taking to power the future growth of the Mountain State.”
Toby Rice, president and CEO of EQT said, “EQT applauds First Energy for this critical step in bringing quality jobs, affordable energy and stronger security for the United States through this new natural gas power plant, located right here in the Mountain State.”
And Rusty Hutson, co-Founder and CEO of Diversified Energy commented, “New natural gas power is great news for West Virginia. Our communities need dependable power that is available at all times, regardless of conditions, for homes, businesses, and the new industries like AI that are driving growth. Natural gas is the only fuel that can deliver that reliability while creating good jobs and boosting local tax revenue. This project is a win for West Virginia and our future.”
