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Gas Plant a Long Way Off: Mason Facility Wouldn T Open Before 2011

Posted on: Friday, 13 January 2006, 09:00 CST

By Jennifer Ginsberg, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va.

Jan. 13--The coal gasification plant that Appalachian Power is considering building in Mason County is still in its infancy and hasn't yet been finalized, company officials said Thursday.

The company filed an application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity with the state's Public Service Commission on Wednesday. The application asks for the PSC's permission to build the 600-megawatt, electric-generating unit.

Gov. Joe Manchin announced the filing in his State of the State address Wednesday night.

The PSC certificate is the first step required before the company could begin building the plant. The plant would be beside the company's New Haven Mountaineer Plant, but wouldn't open until around 2011 or 2012, said Mark Dempsey, Appalachian Power's Vice President of External Affairs.

The utility company hasn't made a final decision to build a plant in West Virginia, said spokeswoman Jeri Matheny. She called the filing a very important step, but said she couldn't predict the future.

"We feel very confident about it," she said.

The plant would convert coal into a cleaner-burning gas that's burned in turbines to power electric generators. Customers from across the company's power grid would use the electricity the proposed plant would produce.

Now, the Public Service Commission has 400 days to determine whether Appalachian Power has enough reason to build the plant. The company will present evidence to the commission showing how the proposed plant would meet its customers' increasing power demands. The company will spend the next nine months doing engineering and design work to help figure out its construction timetable and costs, Matheney said.

Dempsey estimated the project would cost $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion. The company's customers would ultimately pay for the plant in the form of rate increases. He predicted customers would see a less than 10 percent increase in their bills to fund the project.

The company has to receive the initial PSC approval, and complete its initial design and engineering work before it asks for a rate increase from the PSC.

Matheney she couldn't say when Appalachian Power will make its final decision to build the plant. The decision will be based on how the company proceeds through the regulatory process, she said.

Appalachian Power's parent company, American Electric Power, announced in 2004 it planned to build up to 1,200-megawatts of new generation using integrated gasification combined cycle technology somewhere in its eastern service territory.

The company announced last summer that it would build a 600-megawatt plant in Meigs County, Ohio, just across the Ohio River from Ravenswood. Company officials also looked at sites in Kentucky.

The Mason County site rose to the top of the list because the company already owns the property, already has the infrastructure in place and has access to the river, railroad and roads, Matheney said.

This type of facility is the next generation of coal-fired plants and will allow the company to continue using coal to make energy, Matheney explained. The technology also allows the company to go "leaps and bounds ahead in reducing emissions and have a much cleaner environment," she said.

Manchin praised the project, calling it "good economic development news." Dempsey said the plant could employee 125 workers.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., said the power plant will mean an "infusion of jobs, construction of a 21st century facility and a continued commitment to West Virginia coal."

"We've got to be energy independent. We can't rely on foreign countries to provide us with the fuels we need," he said in a written statement. "America has the resources here at home to break the chains of foreign oil and meet our energy demands with our own resources and innovations."

To contact staff writer Jennifer Ginsberg, use e-mail or call 348-5195.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Charleston Gazette

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