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Ohio Valley Jobs Alliance Fighting Gas Plants

WHEELING – Natural gas power plant developers in West Virginia and Ohio say they can create about 1,500 construction jobs and 85 full-time jobs, but Ohio Valley Jobs Alliance members believe these projects are harming coal miners and their families.

The same grassroots organization protesting Moundsville Power’s air quality permit with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is also working to stop similar plants slated for Columbiana and Carroll counties in Ohio. Alliance officials are working to prevent the 1,100-megawatt South Field Energy plant – planned for construction near Wellsville – from receiving a required permit from the Ohio Power Siting Board.

“We will continue to fight back against the war on coal on all fronts and stand up for hard-working coal miners and their families,” alliance member Jim Thomas said regarding the organization’s objections to South Field Energy. “We’re proud to stand up for coal mining jobs in the Ohio Valley.”

The South Field Energy plant is one of Boston-based Advanced Power’s natural gas generators planned for Ohio, with the 700-megawatt Carroll County Energy project being the other. The company is also still seeking a siting permit for the Carroll County generator.

“Ohioans face a growing gap in energy production,” Jonathan Winslow, senior vice president for development at Advanced Power, said. “With facilities like this, we can begin to close that gap by using advanced technology to produce substantial, reliable power, while also minimizing our environmental footprint.”

According to Advanced Power, building the $1.1 billion Wellsville facility would employ 550 construction workers over three years, along with 25 full-time employees once the plant starts running. The $900 million Carroll County plant would require 700 construction workers, while employing as many as 30 full-time workers once it begins generating electricity.

Combining these employment projections with the 400 construction workers and 30 full-time workers for the $615 million Moundsville Power facility, these natural gas-fired power plants would provide new career opportunities for the Marcellus and Utica shale region.

Alliance members do not see it this way, however. Instead, they focus on declining demand for coal which continues to force coal companies into bankruptcy – and miners into the unemployment line.

“We will continue to fight for our jobs and affordable coal-fired electricity for America. America is stronger when our coal industry is strong, and our coal miners are working,” Thomas said.

Alliance officials state in documents filed with the West Virginia Air Quality Board that the Moundsville plant would create additional carbon dioxide pollution. Attorneys Max Corely and Kelby Gray of the Dinsmore and Shohl law firm signed the objection to the facility’s air permit.

“The emissions increases have a substantial and direct impact on public health in the area and should have been subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny,” they state in urging the board to overturn the air permit.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects 2016 to be the first year natural gas generates more electricity than coal. As plants that burn coal continue closing across America, the administration believes 18,700 megawatts of new natural gas generation will enter service before the end of 2018.

The EIA also states the amount of coal burned for electricity in Ohio fell by 49 percent from 2007 to 2015.

Coal used used for electricity dropped by 44 percent in Pennsylvania during this time and 37 percent in Indiana. American Electric Power is also transitioning its portion of Jefferson County’s Cardinal Plant to run on natural gas.

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