Curtis Tate, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Capito: Nuclear Reactor Talk Extends From W.Va. To Washington

Nuclear could come to the state as a result of the legislature’s repeal of a longtime nuclear power moratorium in 2022 and the passage of the Advance Act in Congress last year.

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito says she’s working to bring a small modular nuclear reactor to the state.

Capito says she’s spoken to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about faster permitting for a nuclear project in West Virginia.

On Thursday, the House of Delegates passed House Bill 2205, a bipartisan bill that would enable the West Virginia Public Service Commission to certify small modular reactors.

Nuclear could come to the state as a result of the legislature’s repeal of a longtime nuclear power moratorium in 2022 and the passage of the Advance Act in Congress last year. Capito was a cosponsor of that bill.

“There’s a lot of talk about nuclear up here and at home and hopefully we can move forward on that,” she said.

Nuclear is costly to build and can take decades. But Capito says she supports the idea of repurposing retired coal plants for small modular reactors. One advantage: Those sites are already plugged into the grid.

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin toured one such site, the former Appalachian Power Kanawha River plant, two years ago with technology mogul Bill Gates.

Appalachian Power is pursuing a small modular reactor project in Virginia.

CEO Of Appalachian Gas Producer Says More Pipelines Are Coming

EQT chief Toby Rice took part in a presentation by natural gas industry leaders at the state Capitol Wednesday, briefly joined by Gov. Patrick Morrisey.

The CEO of Appalachia’s biggest natural gas producer says more pipelines are coming as data centers expand and coal plants retire.

EQT chief Toby Rice took part in a presentation by natural gas industry leaders at the state Capitol Wednesday, briefly joined by Gov. Patrick Morrisey.

Morrisey wants to expand microgrids in the state to power data centers and is pushing the legislature to enact House Bill 2014 to do that. It was one of the priorities he laid out in his first State of the State address.

Rice said that would mean building more pipelines.

“So we’ve got to get serious about this, and these data center opportunities in our state are they’re the reasons for us to get started and start building back and capturing some of the lost time that we had,” he said.

Rice was referring to the eight years and $10 billion it took to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which entered service last summer and now transports 2 billion cubic feet of gas a day from north-central West Virginia to southern Virginia.

Lawsuits and protests slowed the pipeline’s construction. But a push from Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito got it over the finish line.

Pittsburgh-based EQT now owns the pipeline, and Rice said more are needed not just for data centers, but for gas-burning power plants to replace aging coal units.

“These power plants are not brand new pieces of equipment when you look and you realize that the reliable power generators that are on our grid, average life is close to 30 years old,” he said. “We got to turn these things over, get back to building things.”

Gas has largely displaced coal generation in the past 10 to 15 years because of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a gas production technique Rice’s company developed with great success.

Now, though, Rice said the mantra has gone from “drill, baby, drill,” to “build, baby build.”

“Absolutely,” he said. “I think it’s inevitable.”

Senate Energy Chair Seeks Recusal On Bill, But Is Directed To Vote

The bill would change how power plants operate in the state, and Mon Power opposes it. The company said it encouraged Rose to keep his legislative role separate from his job.

In a meeting Monday in the Energy, Industry and Mining Committee, Sen. Chris Rose, a Monongalia County Republican, asked to recuse himself from Senate Bill 505.

“I am asking for Senate Rule 43 to be excluded from the vote here today and the discussion,” he said, citing his job with Mon Power.

The bill would change how power plants operate in the state, and Mon Power opposes it. The company said it encouraged Rose to keep his legislative role separate from his job.

Sen. Ben Queen, a Harrison County Republican, delivered the order.

“It is the ruling of the chair that the senator from the second be directed to vote,” Queen said.

Mon Power operates two coal-burning power plants in the state and has said it plans to replace them with natural gas in the coming years.

Sen. Brian Helton, a Fayette County Republican, threw his support behind Rose voting on the bill.

“I think you should vote on it, because I think it’s an important piece of legislation that affects the industry, and I think you’re the in large part of the reason this bill is being run through this committee,” Helton said.

The committee approved the bill again and sent it to the full chamber.

A Mon Power spokesman referred to an earlier statement in which he said the company advised Rose to recuse himself on matters and legislation affecting the company.

Coal Industry Group: Trump’s Chinese Ship Fees Would Hurt State

In written testimony submitted earlier this month, West Virginia Coal Association President Chris Hamilton said the fees would have a detrimental impact on West Virginia coal production.

The U.S. Trade Representative held a hearing this week on a proposal to charge fees of up to $1.5 million on Chinese ships that dock at U.S. ports.

In written testimony submitted earlier this month, West Virginia Coal Association President Chris Hamilton said the fees would have a detrimental impact on West Virginia coal production.

“No matter how well-motivated the proposed trade action may be,” Hamilton wrote, “if completed it will have an immediate and adverse impact on coal production and employment in the state of West Virginia and other coal-producing regions and states.”

Hamilton said the export market is a substantial part of the state’s coal industry. About half the coal it produces every year is exported, and that percentage is growing, he said.

Hamilton said West Virginia is the nation’s leading coal exporter and its coal has replaced lower quality coal or Russian coal in many nations in Europe and Asia.

But he said the imposition of the ship fees would price West Virginia coal out of the seaborne energy market.

“The adverse consequences of limiting West Virginia coal exports will extend beyond economic impacts to the state,” Hamilton wrote, “and include our allies and global energy trading partners that are increasingly relying on U.S.-mined coal to avoid energy-driven political entanglements with hostile nations.”

Hamilton’s name is listed among the witnesses scheduled to speak Wednesday at the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington.

The goal of Trump’s proposal is to end China’s dominance in global shipping and logistics.

Report: Trump Fee On Chinese Ships Could Cut U.S. Coal Exports

In an effort to end China’s dominance in international shipping, the Trump administration wants to charge fees from $1 million to $1.5 million for Chinese ships and Chinese companies to dock at U.S. ports.

A plan by the Trump administration to charge a fee on Chinese ships and Chinese shipping companies to dock at U.S. ports could lower coal exports, a group says.

The policy would mandate exporters to use U.S.-flagged, U.S. made ships, but they could get an exception for using non-U.S. vessels provided the exporter uses U.S.-built ships for at least 20% of the products it exports.

A combination of all of these, according to a report from an ad-hoc coalition of farmers, manufacturers and retailers, and logistics and transportation providers, could reduce U.S. coal exports alone by nearly 25%.

The ports of Norfolk and Baltimore are the top two coal-export terminals in the country, and a significant portion of the coal they export is mined in West Virginia.

About half the coal mined in West Virginia is exported, according to the West Virginia Coal Association.

The Friends of Coal opposes the fees and urged its members to submit comments to the U.S. Trade Representative by March 25.

Most of the coal West Virginia exports is transported by rail. The Association of American Railroads, the industry’s principal trade group, is named in the report.

The proposed fees, the report concludes, could reduce U.S. GDP and worsen the trade deficit.

The report also says the policy could affect agricultural commodities and other industrial products, including automobiles.

It has the potential to divert container ship traffic from U.S. ports to Canada and Mexico, the report says.

Appalachian Power, Mon Power: Microgrid Bill Could Raise Rates

The bill, which would expand the number of microgrids to power data centers in the state, also includes provisions affecting the operation of Mon Power and Appalachian Power’s coal plants.

Appalachian Power and Mon Power have raised significant concerns about one of Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s signature pieces of legislation.

The state’s primary electric utilities say provisions in House Bill 2014 could raise costs for West Virginia customers.

The bill, which would expand the number of microgrids to power data centers in the state, also includes provisions affecting the operation of Mon Power and Appalachian Power’s coal plants.

It would increase the stockpile of coal at each plant from 30 days to 45, and it would require the plants to be ready to operate at 69% capacity when most operate closer to 40%.

It would also throw up barriers for the companies to replace their coal fleet with natural gas, something Mon Power said it intends to pursue in the next several years.

An Appalachian Power spokeswoman said those provisions would lead to rate increases in the millions of dollars.

In a presentation to the state Public Energy Authority last year, Appalachian Power said operating its three plants at 69% over the past 18 months would have cost customers an additional $240 million.

A Mon Power spokesman said the provisions could “put upward pressure on customer rates.”

He also said West Virginia’s current regulatory structure could accommodate large-load customers such as data centers, and Mon Power and Potomac Edison could serve them.

Drew Galang, a Morrisey spokesman, said “Governor Morrisey has made clear that this bill ensures data centers are responsible for paying for microgrid usage and creates a dedicated fund to offset infrastructure costs for electric utilities which will help to keep energy rates down for consumers.”