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Stratton, Willow Island Power Plants In Limbo

 

By MICHAEL D. MCELWAIN

For The Intelligencer

STRATTON — In a bid to become 100% carbon free by 2023, Energy Harbor announced plans to close or sell the W.H. Sammis Power Station in Stratton and to divest other non-core, ancillary properties related to its fossil business.

The company announced the move in a press release Monday.

“Retiring the fossil fueled plants is a difficult but necessary strategic business decision critical to the continued transformation of our company,” David Hamilton, executive vice president, COO and chief nuclear officer at Energy Harbor, said.

Hamilton added, “I am grateful for the dedication and work ethic of our employees as well as the strong support shown by their union leaders and the communities where the plants are located.” The announcement also included Energy Harbor’s plans to close or sell Pleasants Power Station Units 1 and 2 in Willow Island, West Virginia.

Energy Harbor has filed the deactivation notices with PJM Interconnection, LLC, the regional transmission organization.

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, weighed in on the decision and voiced his concerns.

“I am deeply disappointed to hear that Energy Harbor is planning to sell or close the Sammis Plant in Stratton several years ahead of schedule,” Johnson said. “If the plant closes next summer, many good-paying jobs will be lost, not to mention that the massive amount of electricity it creates for our energy grid will need to be replaced.”

Johnson said he hopes a buyer will step up “that will maintain these local jobs, and keep the plant operational and generating reliable and sustainable electricity on-site through the abundance of the natural energy resources we have under our feet here in coal country.”

The power units in Stratton and Willow Island produce 3,074 megawatts of generating capacity and will continue normal operations between now and June 2023, according to Energy Harbor officials. The plant deactivations are subject to PJM’s review for reliability impacts.

“The carbon-free, reliable baseload power generated by our nuclear units is recognized as critical infrastructure required for the U.S. clean energy transition. With our exit from fossil generation ownership, we will be uniquely positioned as one of the few 100 percent carbon-free energy infrastructure and supply companies in the U.S.,” John Judge, Energy Harbor’s president and CEO, stated in the press release announcing the move.

Johnson, however, had a different take on the matter.

“Whether some people like it or not, coal is still a very important component of our national base-load energy supply,” Johnson said. “The world has now seen the dangers of ‘rushing to green’ like so many European nations did only to realize that weather dependent, renewable fuels alone cannot power an economy.”

Energy Harbor operates the second largest non-regulated nuclear fleet in the country supplying roughly 33 terawatt hours of power generation to customers with four nuclear power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

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