Curtis Tate, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Coal-Burning Pleasants Power Station To Be Shut Down Or Sold

The Pleasants Power Station, on the Ohio River in Pleasants County, will be retired or sold in 2023, according to the plant’s owner, Energy Harbor.

The former First Energy plant was saved from closure in 2019 by the state legislature and Gov. Jim Justice, who signed a $12 million tax exemption specifically for the facility.

The plant’s two units generate more than 1,300 megawatts and have been in operation since 1979 and 1980.

West Virginia officials have taken steps to save the state’s remaining coal-burning power plants from closure. The Public Service Commission has approved wastewater projects at three plants owned by American Electric Power and is expected to approve similar projects at two more owned by First Energy.

When completed, the projects will allow all five plants to remain in operation beyond 2028. The companies’ customers will see an increase in their monthly bills to cover the cost.

It isn’t yet clear who, if anyone, might purchase the Pleasants Power Station.

Pleasants is one of two coal-burning plants Energy Harbor is seeking to shed in an effort to become 100% carbon-free. The other is in Ohio.

Energy Bills Move Forward As Legislature Winds Down Session

State lawmakers wrapped up energy related legislation in the final hours of the session, including a bill to create a Mining Mutual Insurance Company.

The Senate unanimously approved the final version of Senate Bill 1 on Saturday, and it becomes effective immediately when the governor signs it.

SB 1 creates a five-member board to manage at least $50 million in taxpayer funds. Those funds would back mine reclamation bonds.

An audit last year found that the state’s special reclamation fund was not adequate to cover future mine cleanup obligations, potentially exposing the state to hundreds of millions of dollars in liabilities.

Senate President Craig Blair identified SB 1 as one of his top priorities, and in a rare move, he sponsored the bill.

Advanced Batteries

The House sent House Bill 4025 back to the Senate late Saturday with an amendment removed, but the chamber didn’t act on it before the session expired.

The bill would have exempted rare earth minerals mined in the state from severance taxes. Its supporters say that will encourage the development of advanced battery technology for use in electric vehicles and storage batteries for renewable energy.

Carbon Storage

Both chambers finished action earlier this month on House Bill 4491, with the Senate agreeing unanimously to the legislation.

HB 4491 will create a permitting system for underground carbon storage. The system could help carbon-intensive industries, such as power plants, steelmakers and cement companies, meet their carbon-reduction or net-zero goals.

The stored carbon could also be used in the future and meanwhile would not be released into the atmosphere.

Nuclear Power

Senate Bill 4 made it across the finish line and to the governor’s desk last month.

SB 4 repealed the state’s longstanding ban on the construction of new nuclear power facilities. The ban was enacted over concerns about nuclear safety and to protect the state’s coal industry from a competitor.

But times have changed. Gov. Jim Justice, a coal executive, signed the repeal. It will take effect on May 1, 2022.

Mine Safety

A bill to change the state’s mine safety code didn’t get very far.

House Bill 4840 would have made changes that Democrats, many Republicans and the United Mine Workers of America said would have weakened safety.

An intensive lobbying effort by mine workers and their allies effectively sidelined the legislation.

House Of Delegates Approves Bill To Aid Mine Reclamation

The House of Delegates approved a bill on Friday to help cover the cost of reclaiming abandoned mines.

An audit last year found the state’s special reclamation fund is insufficient to cover the cost of cleaning up the state’s mine sites.

The audit said the state could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in mine cleanup obligations. Coal company failures in recent years have worsened the problem.

State lawmakers are proposing a Mining Mutual Insurance Company that would issue bonds to cover those liabilities.

It would consist of five appointees chosen by the governor, the Senate president, the House speaker, the Department of Environmental Protection secretary and the state insurance commissioner.

The five-member board would manage $50 million in taxpayer funds. Its proceedings would be closed to the public and the news media, as lawmakers exempted it from state open meetings law and the Freedom of Information Act.

The House voted 61-36 in favor of Senate Bill 1. It will need a vote in the Senate to become law.

Oil Prices Decline, But Gasoline May Take Weeks To Catch Up

The price of oil has dropped in the past few days, but it may take a while for drivers to see a difference at the pump.

After peaking at nearly $124 a barrel on Tuesday, oil settled Thursday at nearly $20 lower.

Meanwhile, the national average price of regular, unleaded gasoline surged to $4.31 a gallon Thursday, and $4.11 in West Virginia, according to AAA. Prices in the Eastern Panhandle are higher than they are in the rest of the state.

Traci Nelson, president of the West Virginia Oil Marketers and Grocers Association, said it may take a few weeks for motorists to notice a difference.

“Whatever the price of crude is, it usually takes about two weeks for it to go down on the street,” she said.

The price of gasoline rose last year with increased demand. Prices plunged during 2020 with lower demand driven by coronavirus shutdowns.

Now, Russia’s war in Ukraine is causing further instability in the global oil market, and the White House has ordered a ban on Russian oil imports.

While prices may come down, industry analysts say that drivers should expect to pay $4 a gallon for the rest of the year.

EPA Plan To Cut Carbon Emissions Would Displace Coal Plants

The Environmental Protection Agency revealed its plan to reduce power plant emissions on Thursday.

As expected, the EPA’s plans will encourage the growth of natural gas and renewables and discourage the continued use of coal to make electricity.

The agency is facing a Supreme Court decision that could potentially constrain its authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act.

West Virginia is the lead plaintiff in the case, and the court heard arguments in it last month.

But speaking at an energy conference in Houston, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the agency has other ways to cut carbon.

The agency will look at strengthening limits on air toxics, including mercury, acid gasses and sulfur dioxide. It will also impose more stringent requirements for storing coal ash and treating wastewater from coal-burning plants.

Such rules could encourage the early retirement of more coal plants.

West Virginia has five coal plants that need to make these upgrades to operate beyond 2028.

While it’s not certain how the new rules could affect those plants, they are likely to cause more closures in other states, and that could reduce demand for coal from West Virginia.

Mining Mutual Insurance Company Board Would Shut Public Out

A bill to create a Mining Mutual Insurance Company raises questions about government transparency.

Senate Bill 1 would exempt the mutual’s five-member board from the state open meetings law and the Freedom of Information Act.

Members of the public and news organizations would not be able to attend or view the board’s activities, nor would they be able to request documents about them.

The company’s board would consist of five political appointees and would oversee at least $50 million in taxpayer funds.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin of Greenbrier County, says the company would be private and that the legislature and the Insurance Commissioner would hold it accountable.

The Open Meetings Law, or Sunshine Act, intended for the proceedings of all public agencies to be conducted in the open. The law provides for such agencies to go into executive session, which is not open to the public, when necessary.

Pat McGinley, who teaches law at West Virginia University, says the board’s proceedings should be transparent.

“Under the Freedom of Information Act, those communications would clearly be, most of them would be, open to the public,” McGinley said. “And clearly, the sponsors of this bill and anyone who votes for it wants to keep the public in the dark.”

The bill passed the Senate unanimously in January, and is now in the House of Delegates.