Excess capacity & excess greenhouse gases are issues

From an Essay by Kelly Allen, WV Center on Budget & Policy, Morgantown Dominion Post, April 26, 2020

OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, THE MONONGALIA COUNTY COMMISSION has been negotiating a “payment in lieu of taxes” (PILOT) deal with Longview Power LLC to build a gas-fired power plant. PILOT agreements are property tax abatements where corporations agree to make annual payments to local governments instead of paying the property taxes they would normally owe and that other businesses in the jurisdiction pay. These fixed payments are generally a small fraction of what would have normally been paid in property taxes, and research shows that business tax incentives rarely pay for themselves by providing net positive tax revenues for community use.

While neither the state nor Monongalia County has disclosed the potential forgone revenue from the agreement, rough estimates calculated by looking at what Longview would be paying if it paid the same tax rates as other businesses in Mon County show that the estimated tax abatement for Longview’s proposed gas-fired power plant is $275 million over the 30-year life of the PILOT deal.

This would represent Monongalia County’s second PILOT agreement with Longview. The county is currently several years into another 30-year tax abatement for Longview’s coal-fired power plant, which is estimated to reduce their tax liability around $562 million. In total, the value of the two PILOT agreements translate into over $670 million in potential lost revenue for Monongalia County, its residents and our public school system, which receives about two-thirds of the county’s property taxes.

In light of the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis that is now facing our county, state and country, governments are facing serious revenue shortfalls. While the county commission is estimating a loss of $1.8 million in tax revenue through June 30, the impacts of the crisis on the property tax revenues, upon which our county’s public services rely, will be felt for months and years to come.

Even in better economic conditions, poorly designed business incentives threaten local revenues and public services, turning a tool aimed to promote economic growth into service cuts and tax increases on residents. In the midst of a potentially lengthy recession, business tax incentives can become economic disasters for local governments, public schools and tax-paying residents.

While other businesses and taxpayers have their property taxes re-assessed each year, Longview is being given a fixed deal for the next 30 years that fails to take into account changing economic conditions or environmental regulations. The less Longview pays, the more other businesses and residents must pay to fund schools and public services.

While proponents argue tax abatements are necessary to incentivize a business to locate in a community and any payments received via the PILOT agreement are a net gain, that fails to take into account the public costs to the community. Roads, fire and police protection, public services and water and air quality are all new costs that will be incurred and must be taken into account in any cost-benefit analysis.

This moment requires that local governments protect critical revenues and ensure that the cost of the economic crisis is not unduly borne by Monongalia County residents. In light of current economic conditions, the county commission should reconsider moving forward with this tax incentive. At the very least, it should produce a costbenefit analysis in light of changes in the economic and energy markets.

Businesses must pay their fair share, and a PILOT agreement that confers special tax treatment on a single corporation without proving net economic benefits for the community is not the right way forward.

>>> KELLY ALLEN is the director of Policy Engagement and the interim deputy director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.

#########################

See also: OPG Subsidiary Atura Power Finalizes Acquisition of Natural Gas Assets

From the CNW Group, Yahoo! Finance, April 29, 2020

TORONTO — April 29, 2020 /CNW/ – Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG), under a new subsidiary that will be doing business as Atura Power, has finalized the acquisition of a portfolio of combined-cycle natural gas-fired plants in Ontario. The natural gas assets had previously been owned by TC Energy.

“Natural gas is the enabler of renewable energy and provides the flexibility required to ensure a reliable electricity system,” said Ken Hartwick, OPG President and CEO. “OPG has decades of energy generating expertise in Ontario and this diversification of our portfolio is a natural fit.”

The total purchase price for the acquisition was approximately $2.8 billion , subject to customary closing adjustments. Any profits generated from these assets will stay in Ontario for the benefit of Ontarians. RBC Capital Markets acted as a financial advisor to OPG on this transaction.

Key Facts About The Acquired Combined-Cycle Natural Gas-Fired Plants:
>> 100% ownership of Napanee Generating Station (900 MW)
>> 100% ownership of Halton Hills Generating Station (683 MW)
>> Remaining 50% ownership of Toronto’s Portlands Energy Centre (50% of 550 MW)
>> In addition to these assets, OPG had previously closed a transaction in August 2019 to acquire the remaining 50% interest in the 560 MW combined-cycle natural gas-fired Brighton Beach Generating Station.

These four facilities will operate together under the Atura Power brand. Atura Power has been established to operate and manage this portfolio of natural gas assets, which are strategically important to the current and future electricity system.

OPG is the largest electricity generator in the province, providing about half the power Ontarians rely on every day. It is also one of the most diverse generators in North America with expertise in nuclear, hydro, biomass, solar and gas.

NOTE: OPG is now the owner of the 50 MW Lake Lynn Hydro Project forming Cheat Lake as well as a number of other small hydro-projects in the mid-Atlantic states. This includes a significant hydro-pumped storage project in Bath County, Virginia.

ASF promotes stream & wildlife recovery and preservation

Editorial Opinion by Morgantown Dominion Post, March 19, 2020

We’d like to interrupt the continuous coverage of coronavirus to take Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom up on his offer to write an editorial about his comments regarding the Appalachian Stewardship Foundation.

Thank you, sir, for offering yourself up as a distraction. The public appreciates you.

Let us preface this editorial by saying that we like Bloom. But it is our job as a trusted news source to follow up on accusations made on the public record against an entity. Particularly if the support for such an accusation is unclear.

We reported a claim (DP 01-16-20) Bloom made that the Appalachian Stewardship Foundation had only spent $355,400 of the $4 million it received as part of an agreement with Longview on “stream and forest remediation.” The other half of the claim was that ASF had spent $1,244,609 on “lawyers and other fees.” Bloom’s source for this information was a letter from Longview president Jeffrey Keffer.

Five days later, ASF representatives posted a response online stating they have not paid legal fees to any lawyer.

We published a follow-up article (DP 02-12-20) after doing our own accounting and reported $1.6 million had been set aside in an endowment fund but $2.2 million had been awarded in the form of 99 grants to environmental organizations in the region. This accounts for $3.8 million.

At the time that article was printed, Bloom had not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Another month later, Bloom has finally gotten back to us. On Monday, he said he will not apologize for questioning the ASF’s spending habits. Rather, he reiterated his claim that less than $355,000 has been spent on “carbon dioxide sequestration and stream mitigation.” Specifically, Bloom points to five grants totaling $207,500 to Appalachian Mountain Advocates — a public interest law and policy organization — dating back to fall 2012 as particularly questionable.

According to Bloom, “The ASF chose grant applications that appear to fund programs that were to stop fossil fuel programs, shut down pipelines and stop fracking. To me, that doesn’t meet the agreement. So if the paper wants to write an editorial about how things appear and accuse me of getting this all wrong, well, I’ve gone through the numbers.”

We’re so glad Bloom finally articulated a specific complaint. We, as well as our readers, were dangling on that cliff hanger for two months, wondering what, precisely, ASF had done wrong. We’re still not entirely sure where Bloom gets his numbers (we calculated six grants totaling $190,000 awarded to AMA starting in spring 2014), but it’s helpful to know that Bloom’s discomfort is grant money funding legal efforts rather than literal tree planting.

We see nothing wrong with ASF’s choice of grant recipients. In the case of AMA, their efforts are focused on preventing environmental problems rather than just cleaning up after them. If ASF chooses to fund programs that treat the source instead of the symptoms, we take no issue with that. But Bloom is allowed to disagree.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

See also: Appalachian Stewardship Foundation Replies to Longview Issues, Larry Harris, FrackCheckWV, January 28, 2020

The geographical range of the foundations’ activities includes West Virginia, parts of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Since its first granting round in 2012, ASF has received $4 million from Longview Power and approved grants totaling over $2.2 million to groups across West Virginia and Virginia through our twice annual grant distribution process.

A description of that grant process and a complete list of those grants awarded to date is available on the ASF website at: www.appalachianstewards.org

A statement (contained in an internal email from Longview’s president and CEO) that ASF has paid $1.2 million to lawyers, individually or collectively, is false. ASF has not paid legal fees to any lawyer.

The Longview II PILOT shows taxes of $58 million rather than $275 million over 30 years

Letter by Adrienne Epley & Kurt Griebel, Morgantown Dominion Post, March 15, 2020

Longview Power proposes to construct a 1200 MW gas-fired power plant next to its existing coal-fired power plant near Fort Martin. It also proposes adding a 20 MW solar farm.

Longview also wants a Payment in Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with Monongalia County. The proposed 30-year PILOT would reduce Longview’s property taxes by over $200 million. Longview advertises that this expansion will be environmentally friendly and will be good for our economy by creating construction jobs and demand for gas extraction.

A careful look shows this plant will not be environmentally friendly. The air pollution emissions include 282 tons of nitrogen oxides, 552 tons of VOCs, 175 tons of fine particulates and other pollutants as well as over 4 million tons of greenhouse gases. These emissions alone will exacerbate toxicity levels in our environment.

Additional environmental contaminants include, but are not limited to, the upstream pollution emissions associated with natural gas well drilling, pipelines and compressors. There are public health concerns associated with the upstream gas extraction and transportation, including pipeline safety, water contamination and radioactive waste(s).

Longview’s contribution to climate change is a serious concern. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommends that, to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius, there must be rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions — at least 50% reduction by 2030 and almost all fossil fuel emissions must end by 2050. Tax breaks for gas-fired power plants are not part of a solution to the climate crisis.

Longview also claims the plant would bring economic growth. While the plant will encourage growth in the gas extraction industry for now, this industry is one of the most capital-intensive there is. The majority of its investment goes to tools and machines, with comparatively little going to the workers.

Compare that to an investment in education. Education is the quintessential labor-intensive industry, where a huge portion of any spending goes toward creating jobs for teachers and school staff.

Longview ’s economic analyses assume that demand for electricity will continue to grow indefinitely but ignores the need to address climate change. If greenhouse gases are restricted in the future, then the proposed Longview plant would not be compliant. As renewable energy becomes cheaper, even gas-fired plants may not be competitive.

With its proposed PILOT, Longview would pay $58 million over a 30-year period, (approximately $2 million a year). Compare that to the estimated $200 million over 30 years that should be paid in taxes. If we do not hold Longview accountable for paying its fair share of taxes, the public would have to make up the difference. This would be in addition to the health care costs due to the detrimental environmental impact that it would have in our region.

We should invest money in clean energy alternatives or in our schools to improve the education of the next generation and ensure that they will have more opportunities. Building the proposed Longview power plant is a poor investment in our children. It robs them of their future. It denies them a habitable planet to live on. That is unacceptable.

The Monongalia County Commission should not support any new investment in fossil fuel infrastructure. However, if it wants to give a tax break to Longview, it should ensure that Longview does address its impact on the climate in a meaningful way.

>>> Adrienne Epley is the chair of the Monongahela Group of the Sierra Club and Kurt Griebel is its conservation chair.

#############################

See also: PILOT Agreements Cost State Millions in Tax Revenue: An In-Depth Look at Longview Power Plant – West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy, Ted Boettner, October 15, 2019

The difference in PILOT payments and the estimated property taxes owed without the abatement is stark. The estimated tax abatement for the first Longview Power PILOT agreement is $457 million compared to $217 million for the second proposed PILOT agreement with Longview Power. Altogether, the property tax abatement over 30 operating years for both PILOTs is estimated to be $674 million. These estimates should be taken with caution because the assessed valuations of the property could vary significantly depending on the depreciation rate used for the property and capital improvements over time.

Of the people, by the people, for the people have disappeared from this county

Letter to the Editor, Morgantown Dominion Post, March 5, 2020

I have watched with dismay over the last three months as CEO Jeff Keffer of Longview has made dishonest claims that the expansion of Longview will offer clean carbon energy, and the Monongalia County Commissioners have closed ranks around Commissioner Tom Bloom, who made false allegations against the Sierra Club to deflect its criticisms of the power plant’s expansion.

The commission is negotiating millions in tax breaks for Longview behind closed doors. Given that Bloom received his fabricated allegations from CEO Keffer, establishing collusion between commissioner and CEO, the negotiations should absolutely occur under a critical public eye. Commissioners are accountable to the public, not Longview.

Commissioner Hawkins pushed back against the Sierra Club’s concern over air pollution emissions from the new gas-fired plant, including over three million tons of greenhouse gases. He claimed, “the best and easiest way to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is to plant trees” (DP 1-23).

Of course, the easiest way to reduce CO2 is not to emit it in the first place. A typical mature hardwood absorbs only 48 pounds of CO2 annually, requiring 125 million trees to mitigate three million tons of CO2. Trees moreover do not store methane, a virulent greenhouse gas emitted in the production and transportation of natural gas, and chronically underreported by the natural gas industry.

Why should we, the public, subsidize Longview and its polluting infrastructure, when the only long-lasting result will be more toxins in our air and water?

Katherine B. Aaslestad, Morgantown, WV

############################

See also: The Challenge of Justifying PILOT Tax Avoidance for Longview Power, FrackCheckWV, January 7, 2020

“it’s not easy being green”

From an Article by David Beard, Morgantown Dominion Post, January 6, 2020

MORGANTOWN — Some members of the green community assembled on the Courthouse Square Monday afternoon to protest the proposed construction of two new Longview Power plants – one gas-fired, one solar.

The Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition and the West Virginia Sierra Club chapter put on the press conference and timed it to precede a Public Service Commission public hearing on the proposed plants to be held inside the Courthouse.

Duane Nichols, with the Coalition, who lives in Stewartstown said the impacts of the current coal-fired Longview plant and its coal-fired neighbor, Fort Martin, can be seen for miles: The steam plumes block sunshine and affect the weather in that area.

And less than 40% of the fuel energy burned is converted to electrical energy generated, he said. The rest escapes as waste heat. Along with that, “the tonnage of carbon dioxide day after day is adding to that atmosphere.”

The daily truck traffic serving the plant, he said, also creates a nuisance for residents in the area of the plant, over 300 loaded coal trucks per day going up the long Ft. Martin hill.

Longview Power is negotiating a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement for the two plants with Monongalia County that would provide the county with about $58.2 million across 30 years. Jarryd Powell, with the Greater Morgantown Sunrise Movement, sited a report from the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy to highlight what he sees as a flawed agreement.

The WVCBP report says that Mon County would be giving up about $217 million in additional property taxes from alternate, fully taxed uses of the property – which Longview owns.

Powell said, “These $217 million could address green energy investment, improved healthcare, education, infrastructure and many other important issues in Mon County. … This measure simply appears to be a private entity extorting Mon County residents over their rightful tax dollars and preying on our desperation for jobs.”

Jonah Kone, also with Sunrise, focused on the environmental impacts. “In 30 years, I would like to live and work on a healthy planet.”

Lira Reins, with the West Virginia healthy Kids and Families Coalition, said the PILOT will provide less value to the county that the current Longview and Fort Martin PILOTs. The new PILOT would from $1.5 million to $2.5 million per year, while the current Longview PILOT brings in about $3.5 million and Fort Martin about $3.4 million.

Jim Kotcon, Sierra Club conservation chair, said Longview II – the gas-fired plant — will emit 4 million tons of greenhouse gases per year “That’s 4 million tons that will continue to warm the climate.”

Also, he said, there’s no need for the electricity it will produce. “Our region is already dramatically oversupplied with electricity.” He cited testimony to that effect submitted to the PSC. “If demand is not going up and supply increases, somebody’s going away.” Other speakers suggested Fort Martin might be the plant that would fall victim.

##########################

See also: PILOT Agreements Cost State Millions in Tax Revenue: An In-Depth Look at Longview Power Plant, Ted Boettner, WV Center on Budget & Policy, October 15, 2019

Consider the Longview II PILOT Agreement for New Power Plant

By Kelly Allen, WV Center on Budget & Policy, December 10, 2019

While local government agencies have not disclosed the forgone revenue estimates from the Longview I or II PILOT agreements, we can estimate the value of the tax expenditure by looking at what Longview would be paying if it paid the same tax rate as other businesses in Monongalia County.

PILOT Agreements in West Virginia Lack Transparency and Are Often Unnecessary —
-Neither the state nor the county report on how much property tax revenue is lost each year to PILOTs and other business tax incentives.
-There is no evaluation process for determining that PILOTs have provided a net good for residents and taxpayers.
-Research suggests that between 75-98% of the time, business tax incentives do not affect a business’ decision on where to locate.
-Even when they do tip a location decision, they rarely pay for themselves by providing net positive tax revenues.
-Poorly designed business tax incentives threaten public services, turning a tool said to promote growth into an economic disaster.

There are best practices for ensuring transparency and accountability when PILOTs are done —
✓ Disclose the forgone property tax revenue and require an evaluation of all PILOT agreements to ensure a net positive taxpayer benefit.
✓ Give school boards decision-making authority to approve all agreements as they are the most impacted by loss of property tax revenue (2/3 of property taxes go to local schools).
✓ Enlist a neutral or third-party to conduct a cost-benefit analysis to ensure that the deal is worthwhile over the short- and long-term life of the project. (Our only current analysis was paid for by Longview).
✓ Include local hiring provisions, pay and benefit standards, and clawback/recapture provisions if the developer fails to fulfill their obligations.
✓ Grant abatements only to areas in need of development and to those that maximize beneficial outcomes (infrastructure improvements, quality jobs, overall revenue gains).
✓ Limit the length of the abatement to the minimum necessary to attract the development sought.

At the very least, PILOT agreements in West Virginia, especially those where almost all of the economic impact happens during construction, like Longview Power, should require that the new tax revenue from the project exceeds the property tax abatement and that there are job creation and retention requirements.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

See also: PILOT Agreements Cost State Millions in Tax Revenue: An In-Depth Look at Longview Power Plant, Ted Boettner, October 15,2019

Conceptual layout of Longview II and III

LONGVIEW POWER II, LLC, and
LONGVIEW RENEWABLE POWER, LLC

Joint Application of Longview Power II, LLC and
Longview Renewable Power, LLC to Authorize the
Construction and Operation of Two Wholesale Electric
Generating Facilities and One High-Voltage
Electric Transmission Line in Monongalia County.

NOTICE OF FILING AND HEARING

On September 6,2019, Longview Power II, LLC and Longview Renewable Power, LLC (Applicants) filed a joint application pursuant to W. Va. Code $8 24-2-1 1c and 24-2-1 1a to authorize the construction and operation of two wholesale electric generating facilities and one high-voltage electric transmission line in Monongalia County, West Virginia, including all interconnection and ancillary facilities.

The Facilities proposed by the Applicants include a 1,200 MW natural gas-fired electric combined cycle gas turbine generating facility and associated high-voltage transmission line (CCGT Facility) and a 70 MW utility scale solar facility to be located in West Virginia and Pennsylvania (Solar Facility). Longview Power 11, LLC will construct and operate the CCGT Facility, and Longview Renewable Power, LLC will construct and own the Solar Facility. When combined with the existing 710 MW coal-fired facility (Coal Facility) owned by Longview Power, LLC, an affiliate of the Applicants, the CCGT and Solar Facilities will produce nearly 2,000 MW of generating capacity in north-central West Virginia and south-west Pennsylvania.

The CCGT Facility will deploy two gas turbines with a high efficiency, secondary cycle steam turbine system and will include a 500 kV transmission line extending approximately three-quarters of a mile north from the facility to the North Longview Switchyard in Pennsylvania. The Solar Facility will be a 70 MW (direct current) utility scale solar facility with 20 MW of panels in West Virginia and 50 MW of panels in Pennsylvania as presently configured. The solar array fields in West Virginia will have a 34.5 kV collection system that transmits power to the point of interconnection, where the voltage will be stepped up to 500 kV. The CCGT and Solar Facilities will be constructed adjacent to the site of the Coal Facility on reclaimed mine land owned by Longview Power, LLC and its affiliates.

The Applicants estimate that the total construction costs of the CCGT and Solar Facilities (excluding financing charges and fees in 2018 dollars) will be approximately $956 million.

The Applicants assert that they are not public utilities providing service to the public and that the construction and operation of the Facilities will not impact West Virginia ratepayers. Rates charged for electricity sold by the Facilities will be subject to regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) pursuant to Section 205 of the Federal Power Act. The Applicants intend to file a market-based rate schedule with FERC that will allow sales from the Facilities to be at negotiated rates.

The Applicants will be responsible for the construction and operation of the Facilities and for the sale of electricity generated by them. The Applicants will operate the Facilities as exempt wholesale generators as defined under Section 32(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.

The Applicants will enter into interconnection and operating agreements with PJM, a regional transmission organization, which will govern the interconnections of the CCGT and Solar Facilities with West Perm Power and PJM at the North Longview Switchyard in Pennsylvania. The Applicants, or the purchasers of the electricity generated by the Facilities, will enter into transmission service agreements with West Penn Power to govern the transmission of
the electricity across West Penn Power’s facilities. Such transmission of electricity will be subject to the terms of PJM’s Open Access Transmission Tariff on file with the FERC. The interconnections with West Penn Power will not compete with other utilities and will be for the sole purpose of transmitting electricity generated at the Facilities onto the grid for the wholesale market.

The Applicants assert that because they are not public utilities under West Virginia law, considerations relevant to the issuance of a certificate of convenience and necessity under W. Va. Code 5924-2-1 1 and 24-2-1 1a such as the need for the Facilities and the information required by Tariff Rule 42, should not be addressed by the Commission.

Therefore, the Applicants request a waiver of the Public Service Commission’s filing requirements to provide certain information including the utility service rendered, proposed rates, project construction costs, project financing and estimates of operating revenues and expenses, and the information required by
Tariff Rule 42 (e.g., statements of net income, operating revenues, depreciation, West Virginia jurisdictional rate base, plant in service and capital structure).

And, because the Applicants will not be regulated by the Commission as public utilities following completion of the Facilities, they request a waiver of the Commission’s filing and reporting requirements, metering requirements, customer relations, inspections and tests, standards and quality of service, promotional practices, consumer reimbursement program, uniform accounting requirements, and the requirement to allow Commission inspection of books, papers, reports and statements that are specific to regulated public utilities whose practices affect captive ratepayers.

Further information concerning the Application is available in the case file at the Commission offices at 201 Brooks Street, Charleston, West Virginia, or on the Commission’s website, www.psc.state.wv.us, under Case No. 19-0890-E-CS-CN.

The Commission set a procedural schedule, including a hearing on the Application. The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. on January 30, 2020 and will continue into January 31, 2020, if necessary, in the Howard M. Cunningham Hearing Room at the Commission’s offices at 201 Brooks Street, Charleston, West Virginia.

Anyone desiring to file public comments in support or in opposition to the Application may do so by mailing to the address below. The Commission will receive written public comments until the beginning of the hearing.

Anyone desiring to petition to intervene in this case must file a written request to intervene within thirty (30) days of the date of publication of this notice, unless otherwise modified by Commission order. Anyone requesting a hearing in this case must also file such
request in writing within the same 30-day period and state why a hearing is necessary. Failure to timely protest or intervene can affect your right to protest or participate in future proceedings in this case. If no substantial protests or requests for hearing are received within said 30-day period, the Commission may waive formal hearing and grant the Application based on the evidence submitted with said Application and its review thereof. All protests or requests to intervene shall briefly state the reason(s) for the protest or intervention. Requests to intervene must comply with the Commission’s rules on intervention set forth in the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. The Commission’s rules are available via a link on the Commission’s Home Page to the website of the West Virginia Secretary of State.

All written comments and protests, requests to intervene, and requests for hearing must state the case name and number and be addressed to Connie Graley, Executive Secretary, Post Office Box 812, Charleston, West Virginia 25323.

Public comments may also be filed online by clicking the “Formal Case” link at:
http://www.psc.state.wv.us/scripts/onlinecomments/default.cfm

LONGVIEW POWER 11, LLC, and
LONGVIEW RENEWABLE POWER, LLC

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Recommendation of Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition (MVCAC):

File a Letter of Protest with the WV Public Service Commission

Ask that the Certificate of Site Approval be denied unless Longview installs carbon capture to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Be sure to include the reference to Case # 19-0890.

Mail letters to: Connie Graley, Executive Secretary, West Virginia Public Service Commission, 201 Brooks Street, Charleston, WV 25301.

Or file comments on-line Protesting Case Number 19-0890 at: http://www.psc.state.wv.us/scripts/onlinecomments/default.cfm

Attend the Public Hearing. The PSC will hold a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020 at 5:30 PM at the Monongalia County Courthouse, 243 High Street, Morgantown. You can present your comments in person at that time.

Wanted — More Places to Pollute the Atmosphere

To the Editor, Morgantown Dominion Post, October 2, 2019

The plan to expand the Longview Power Plant with a gas-fired plant (Dominion Post — September 13) is disturbing. The company wants the Monongalia County Commission to approve a huge tax break, a PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) instead of assessed property taxes.

Another fossil fuel plant means even more air and water pollution, resulting in higher health expenses. While natural gas claims to burn cleanly, fracking is not a clean process. Fracking pads leak methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, and generate millions of gallons of toxic waste water. There is no such thing as clean fossil fuels.

Longview is an electric wholesale plant, so all the energy generated there goes into the national grid and is not necessarily consumed here. Nor will it make our rates any cheaper. That Longview filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2013, two years after it went online, does not instill confidence for future performance.

According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, “continued investments in gas-fired power plants will present stranded cost risk for customers, shareholders, and society, while locking in 100 million tons of CO2 emissions each year. RMI research shows that ‘clean energy portfolios’ comprised of wind, solar, and energy storage technologies are now cost-competitive with new natural gas power plants, while providing the same grid reliability services.

Children around the world are begging us to protect their future. Why should we invest in fossil energy sources that are guaranteed to rob them of it? We should not give tax breaks and incentives to fossil fuel industries. The Mon County Commission has an opportunity to say YES to the children by saying YES to solar energy but NO to another fossil fuel plant.

Betsy Lawson, Morgantown

#########################

See also: Wanted: More Places to Burn Natural Gas – A FracTracker Guest Article, Alison Grass, Food & Water Watch, April 21, 2017

https://www.fractracker.org/2017/04/gas-fired-power-plant/

Proposed Longview Power electric energy complex on Mason Dixon Line

From an Article Ben Conley, Morgantown Dominion Post, February 23, 2019

MORGANTOWN — Already operating one of the world’s most advanced and efficient coal-fired power plants, Longview Power is ready to invest an estimated $1.2 billion to build natural gas and solar power generation facilities.

Longview Power President and CEO Jeffery Keffer said the company plans to bring the new facilities online in 2020, making Longview an “all of the above” energy center.

The bulk of the investment, about $900 million, will go toward the creation of a natural gas combined cycle plant to be located near Longview’s Fort Martin Road coal facility.

While the gas plant will be significantly smaller, it will generate 1,200 megawatts, far outpacing the 710 megawatts generated by its coal-fired predecessor.

“This will be smaller, but more efficient in a lot of ways because of the type of equipment that’s used,” Keffer said of the gas-powered turbines at the heart of the plant. “We’ll be using the latest types of these so that we’ll have high efficiency. Again, the same idea that went into Longview — the latest equipment, most advanced technology and a fuel that’s abundant and easily available.”

The natural gas facility will be fed using a 6.2-mile, 20-inch gas pipeline that will run into Pennsylvania to connect with Trans Canada’s Columbia 1804 interstate transmission line.

Keffer said all necessary rights of way have been secured, and environmental studies and permitting procedures with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are well under way. Longview is working with Thrasher Engineering on the $30 million pipeline, the majority of which will run underground.

Once the natural gas plant is completed, the staging areas used in its construction will be part of a series of solar arrays covering 350 acres near the plant and in Pennsylvania. When the sun is shining, the solar arrays will generate about 50 megawatts, offsetting a significant portion of the power used to operate the coal plant.

“The solar takes about 350 acres and produces 50 megawatts, and that’s if the sun is shining. The gas plant takes 26 acres and produces 1,200 megawatts. That gives you a sense, you know, when people say we’re going to all renewables, I’m not sure where that’s all going to take place,” Keffer said, noting the solar arrays have an estimated cost of $70 million.

He went on to say that the two-plus-year buildout will likely generate about 6,000 construction jobs. The natural gas plant will likely generate between 30 and 40 permanent jobs.

“Using the infrastructure we already have here reduces our upfront cost. Where we can also economize is just in the number of jobs,” Keffer said. “Typically a plant like this would create maybe 50 jobs, permanently. We would be able to utilize our resources already here in terms of maintenance people, our accounting people and that sort of thing.”

As incentive to build the $2.2 billion coal plant locally, Longview entered into a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with the Monongalia County Commission in 2008.

Commission President Tom Bloom said a separate agreement will be worked out regarding the upcoming improvements.

“We’re excited about the investment locally,” Bloom said. “Yes, we will need to set up another agreement. What that is, we don’t know at this time. It’s too premature to say exactly what that would look like.”