dbeard@dominionpost.com
MORGANTOWN – As Mon Power’s Fort Martin and Harrison power stations approach retirement age, parent company FirstEnergy is contemplating replacing them with combined-cycle plants fueled by natural gas.
FirstEnergy President and CEO Brian Tierney broadly alluded to the possibility in a recent webcast following the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year financial results.
FirstEnergy expects to retire the 1,098 megawatt Fort Martin plant in Maidsville, outside Morgantown, in 2035; and the 1,984 MW Harrison plant in Haywood in 2040. Fort Martin was commissioned in 1967, Harrison in 1972.
Tierney said FirstEnergy expects to file its West Virginia 2025 Integrated Resource Plan in December, and the filing will address options for future generation needs. The Investor Fact Book says this will be a 10-year outlook with options around Fort Martin, future load forecasts, environmental scenarios and resource adequacy concerns.
Tierney expanded on that a bit during the Q&A portion of the webcast. He said if FirstEnergy would start building for the eventuality of the plant retirements, the spending for that could come in year 4-5 of their 10-year plan, continuing beyond 2029 and all through the 20230s.
Building 3,000-4,000 megawatts of combined cycle generation could cost $4 billion to $6 billion over 12-15 years, he said.
The Dominion Post on Tuesday asked FirstEnergy for clarification if it would convert the two plants to combined-cycle or build new.
FirstEnergy confirmed that Mon Power and Potomac Edison are planning to develop new, dispatchable generation in the state. “We are in the early stages of the planning process and do not have any additional details to share at this time, but … these plans are for new generation, not the conversion of our existing plants.”
A combined cycle plant uses both gas and steam turbines to generate more power. Waste heat from the gas turbine powers the steam turbine. Dispatchable generation is power that can be dispatched on demand.
