MORGANTOWN — The Morgantown Energy Associates plant on Beechurst Avenue will be deactivated effective Jan. 1, 2020, according to PJM Interconnect.
While MEA will go off the power grid, it will continue to provide steam to heat WVU’s two Morgantown campuses, WVU said.
MEA is owned by Starwood Energy Group, based in Greenwich, Conn. Starwood’s spokesmen could not be reached by phone or email to explain the company’s plans for the plant, but other sources provided some information.
The coal-fired plant, opened in 1992, generates about 50 megawatts of power that it sells to Mon Power, which feeds it into the PJM grid. PJM is the regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia.
Starwood notified PJM of the planned deactivation on Oct. 3. PJM is now conducting a reliability analysis to see how the loss of MEA’s contribution might affect the power grid.
“Plant owners considering retirement first notify PJM at least 90 days in advance, so that we can plan to ensure the grid operates reliably without any issues,” said spokesman Jason McGovern. “The sooner the generating plant owner informs PJM of its intent to retire a plant, the sooner PJM can study the transmission system and mandate any necessary upgrades. PJM has no vested interest in either keeping a plant running or closing down, but must make sure the transmission system continues working without issue.”
Mon Power spokesman Jeffrey Straight said Mon Power has been purchasing electricity from the plant under an Electric Energy Purchase Agreement (EEPA) with MEA since April 1992.
“Although this agreement was to continue through April 2027, Mon Power made a filing with the West Virginia PSC last Friday to buy out of the contract for $60 million. Between 2014 and 2018, the EEPA cost customers nearly $70 million and is forecast to cost an additional $17.7 million in 2020. Terminating the contract now can save our customers money while having no impact on our ability to supply them with low-cost, reliable electricity.”
The Public Service Commission was closed Monday for Columbus Day, so its spokeswoman couldn’t be reached for questions, and Mon Power’s filing wasn’t yet posted.
WVU’s contract to receive MEA’s steam also lasts through 2027, WVU spokesman John Bolt said. “We expect to continue to receive it, however it’s generated.”
The Dominion Post had received reports that Starwood plans to convert the plant from coal-fired to gas-fired, and is awaiting confirmation and details from Starwood.
MEA now mostly runs on waste coal, also called gob coal, but also uses some natural gas. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2018, MEA burned 395,845 tons of waste coal and 8,849 mcf (thousand cubic feet) of natural gas.
MEA is part of Starwood’s Excalibur Power Portfolio, which also consists of two thermal coal plants in New Jersey and one in Arkansas. MEA is by far the smallest: The others range from 225 MW to 680 MW. Three of them sell steam along with generating power.
Starwood announced the purchase – from affiliates of Ares EIF Management and of The McNair Group – in November 2017 and closed the deal in early 2018.
It noted at the time that the plants derive a significant majority of their revenue from power-purchase agreements. Of the three steam plants, it said, “These facilities comply with current and currently anticipated environmental regulations and are relatively recent vintage assets that do not have legacy environmental issues.”
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