FirstEnergy Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

PSC Approves Solar Project In Mineral County Amid Statewide Boom

The 100-megawatt solar facility will be built by Potomac Hills Energy on a 650-acre former strip mining site.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission has approved a solar project in Mineral County.

The 100-megawatt solar facility will be built by Potomac Hills Energy on a 650-acre former strip-mining site.

A 200-megawatt-hour battery storage system is also planned. The facility will connect to FirstEnergy, the parent company of Mon Power and Potomac Edison.

Solar is undergoing a bit of a boom in the state. West Virginia’s largest solar facility was activated in Monongalia County in January. It’s operated by FirstEnergy. The company is building a second solar facility in Marion County, and three more are planned elsewhere.

The U.S. Department of Energy will provide up to $129 million for a solar project in Nicholas County on two former coal mines. It is planned to generate 250 megawatts of electricity.

Savion, a subsidiary of Shell based in Kansas City, Missouri, will build the project.

Mon Power’s Harrison Plant Tops EPA’s Toxic Release List Statewide

Out of 177 facilities statewide, the Mon Power Harrison Power Station ranks first on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Release Inventory.

A power plant in Harrison County releases more toxic material into the air than any other facility in the state, according to federal data.

Out of 177 facilities statewide, the Mon Power Harrison Power Station ranks first on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory.

The plant is responsible for 7.4 million pounds of toxic releases into the air and water every year.

Sulfuric acid accounts for most of what the plant releases into the air, and ammonia into the water.

Hannah Catlett, a spokeswoman for Mon Power parent FirstEnergy, said the company complies with all environmental regulations.

The next four facilities on the Toxic Release Inventory are also coal-burning power plants, but all four release fewer than 3 million pounds annually.

The four are the Pleasants Power Station, now operated by Omnis Technologies; Appalachian Power’s John Amos plant; Mon Power’s Fort Martin Power Station and Dominion Power’s Mount Storm Power Station.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sulfuric acid forms when sulfur dioxide from burning coal, oil and gas reacts with water in the air.

According to a Mon Power fact sheet, the Harrison Power Station is equipped with pollution controls that remove 98 percent of sulfur dioxide from the plant’s emissions.

Mon Power Building 2nd Solar Facility In State In Marion County

Jim Myers, president of Mon Power parent FirstEnergy’s West Virginia operations, said the property is a former coal ash disposal site.

Mon Power has started construction on its second solar facility in the state.

The company will build a 5.5 megawatt solar farm on 27 acres in Marion County near a coal-burning power plant that closed in 2012.

Jim Myers, president of Mon Power parent FirstEnergy’s West Virginia operations, said the property is a former coal ash disposal site.

“We believe the energy generated by our West Virginia solar sites will continue to encourage economic development in the state because a growing number of companies require a portion of the electricity they purchase to be generated by renewable sources,” he said.

In January, Mon Power activated its first solar facility in West Virginia in Monongalia County. It generates 19 megawatts on about 80 acres near two active coal plants.

The Marion County site, and another in Berkeley County, are expected to start operating by the end of the year.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison are seeking Public Service Commission approval to begin construction on two more solar facilities, one in Tucker County and one in Hancock County.

Together, the solar sites represent a small but growing renewable energy sector in the state.

Mon, PE Power Customers To Receive Credit For Misused Funds

Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison company customers will receive a one-time fixed bill credit on their 2024 July bill.

The company’s combined 800,000 customers will receive a part of the $2.5 million dollar credit. An audit ordered by state regulators into the operations of the power companies revealed financial misconduct and called for greater accountability of lobbying expenses and better record keeping.

The audit followed both companies’ requests for a rate increase.

An accounting firm hired by the Public Service Commision to investigate the two power companies recommended further investigations into millions of dollars in fuel procurement and management consulting and suggested further reviews elsewhere.
Both companies are a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corporation which paid a $230 million fine in 2021 as part of a deferred prosecution agreement for its role in a bribery scheme.

Those ‘Restricted’ Banks? They May Be Supporting Fossil Fuels After All

JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo are among the top six institutions worldwide to invest in companies that burn coal, according to the Sierra Club.

JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are on the state’s restricted financial institutions list. They got there because Treasurer Riley Moore determined last year that they are engaged in a boycott of fossil fuels.

A new report from the Sierra Club, however, shows all those institutions invest in electric utilities that are heavy users of coal.

JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo are among the top six institutions worldwide to invest in companies that burn coal.

British bank Barclays, which is not on the state’s restricted institutions list, is the largest investor in West Virginia’s top power companies, American Electric Power and FirstEnergy. Barclays is also the top financier of coal-burning utilities in the world, according to the report.

These and eight other power companies operate coal-burning power plants in 16 states.

The top six banks all made commitments to align their investments with the Paris Agreement yet have invested nearly $84 billion in coal-burning utilities since 2016, the report found.

Jared Hunt, a Treasury spokesman, said the banks were placed on the list based on their publicly available policy statements.

Virtually all banks have set net-zero goals for carbon dioxide emissions and have made commitments to environmental, social and governance, or ESG standards.

Yet as the Sierra Club report shows, many of them continue to support fossil fuels.

WVSP Investigating Preston County Helicopter Crash

Two people from the crash were life-flighted by air ambulance to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. No word yet on the extent of the crash victims’ injuries.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

West Virginia State Police are investigating a helicopter crash Friday in Preston County.

Preston County Emergency Management confirms two people from the crash were life-flighted by air ambulance to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. No word yet on the extent of the crash victims’ injuries.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, “a Bell 206B helicopter crashed near Veterans Memorial Highway in Terra Alta, West Virginia, around 11:40 a.m. local time on Friday, July 21. Two people were on board. The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate.”

The helicopter crew members involved in the accident were contracted by FirstEnergy from the GeoDigital company for utility work.

FirstEnergy released this statement:

“The helicopter crew members involved in today’s accident were contracted by FirstEnergy to complete inspections of the company’s transmission lines. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured and their families.”

On Saturday, July 22, West Virginia State Police released the following statement:

“On 7/21/23 at approximately 11:20 am, Troopers were notified by Preston County 911 of a helicopter crash. The crash occurred in the area of Caddell Mountain, near Terra Alta, WV. Troopers were the first to arrive on-scene and began extricating the two occupants. One of the individuals could not be extricated. Troopers remained with the second occupant until additional help arrived and the other individual could be safely removed. The occupants were then transported to Ruby Memorial and treated for minor injuries. Troopers were unable to determine why the 1979, Bell helicopter, crashed. Troopers secured the scene until the FAA arrived and assumed control of the scene. Further investigation will be conducted by the FAA.”