The fate of the proposed Longview Power gas and solar plants is in the hands of the Public Service Commission.
All the parties have filed final arguments and all that’s left is the waiting. The statutory deadline for a decision is July 8, but people familiar with the case don’t expect it to take that long.
The PSC held its evidentiary hearing on Jan. 30 and all the parties, pro and con, filed their briefs and replies to the briefs by Feb. 28. Here is a look at the arguments in those briefs.
The PSC is considering citing certificate requests submitted by Longview Power II and Longview Renewable Power, daughter companies of Longview Power, which operates the existing coal-fired plant near Maidsville. Longview II would operate the gas-fired plant; Longview Renewable, the solar.
PSC approval would allow the companies to build and operate the two facilities and a high-voltage transmission line that requires a PSC certificate of public convenience and necessity.
Longview II would be a 1,200 megawatt powered by two high-efficiency, low-heat-rate gas turbines and occupying about 54 acres north of and adjacent to the existing plant. Longview Renewable will consist of solar panel array fields generating about 70 MW of power: four West Virginia arrays producing 20 MW and covering 127 acres near the existing plant, and 50 MW just across the Pennsylvania border.
Sierra Club West Virginia opposes Longview II and focuses its arguments on that plant. It says the plant isn’t needed, despite Longview’s contention otherwise. “Its plant will simply displace other power providers, causing an unknown and unaccounted for number of job losses.”
The Sierra Club also argues that state law requires the PSC to account for the effects of a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement. No final agreement between Longview and the Monongalia County Commission — or the Mon County Board of Education — exists, so the PSC can’t legally issue a certificate. All the PSC has in hand is a non-binding term sheet outlining proposed payments over 30 years.
Longview counters, “Longview and its investors have no reason to pursue an uncompetitive and unneeded project.” The PSC itself has cited coal plant retirements as sparking the need for gas-fired plants. Coal’s share of the PJM regional grid supply has fallen from 50% in 2014 to less than 27% in 2019; while gas’ share has risen from 15% to more than 33%.
Longview estimates that Longview II will cost $925 million to build; Longview Renewable will cost $76 million, with $31 million of that on the West Virginia side. The two projects will create 2,835 job-years with $219.5 million in wages.
The first year of Longview II will create 618 full- and part-time jobs and $43 million in wages; Longview Renewable will create 10 full- and part-time jobs and $640,000 in wages.
The PSC received concerns about area traffic during construction and Longview plans to mitigate it by using barges and docks, a full-time traffic monitor, using the northern route to the site and neighborhood meetings.
The proposed PILOT agreement for the two plants would provide the county with about $58.2 million across 30 years. Annual county revenue from the proposed PILOT is projected at $2.5 million up front, then gradually escalating from $1.58 million per year for the first five years up to $2.47 million in year 30. If Longview built both plants across the border, Greene County would receive only $23 million.
Longview admits that the term sheet is non-binding but contends it reflects the agreement in place and that the final document will merely supplement the terms with ancillary details. It’s also added as a condition of approval that it must submit the final PILOT to the PSC at least 30 days before starting construction, and won’t start work until the PILOT is final.
Longview has also agreed to add to the conditions that it will build the recreational park at the site, and will maintain control over access and use.
The West Virginia State Building and Trades Council supports plant construction. “Construction of this facility will have … a substantial positive impact on the local economy and local employment and … the facility will have a positive impact generally on the state and local economy.”
The council cites Longview’s jobs projections and notes that Longview has committed to hiring local labor in a memorandum agreement with the local unions.
PSC staff conditionally supports the project. While the PILOT isn’t finalized, the PSC can use the term sheet, which should provide adequate information for the commissioners to consider for their decision.
Staff agreed that a couple legal technicalities pointed out by the Sierra Club fall short of the letter of the law but they aren’t significant enough to be fatal to the application. “The commission still has plenty of information upon which to make its determination.”
Staff would like to see a written commitment for Longview to use the northern route — Fort Martin/Bobtown Road — to deliver construction materials to minimize community disruption, especially since Longview is now trucking in coal for the original plant.
The PSC told The Dominion Post that it is still accepting public comments on the proposed project. They can be mailed or submitted at the PSC website: psc.state.wv.us.
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