MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AFX) - The state Public Service Commission has issued final approval for a $1 billion coal-fired power plant, ruling the job-creation and financial benefits to Monongalia County outweigh any negative effects.
In a 135-page order issued late Monday, the PSC laid out conditions to placate three citizen groups that have fought the project for years, including a noise control plan, proof the developer has the required financing and a $3 million performance bond in case the money runs out before construction is completed.
It also granted a certificate of need for a transmission line and ruled that construction of the plant itself must begin within three years and be completed within eight, or the developers will have to reapply for certificates.
But opponents of the Longview Power Plant said Tuesday that the conditions set by the PSC don't go far enough.
The site approval is 'a sellout to out-of-state developers, a tax scam, and a threat to our health and well-being,' Citizens for Alternatives to Longview Power, Citizens for Responsible Development and the Fort Martin Community Association charged in a joint statement.
Longview Power LLC, a subsidiary of Needham, Mass.-based GenPower LLC, plans to build the 600 megawatt plant near Allegheny Energy's Fort Martin plant. The PSC issued conditional approval for construction in 2004, but court battles delayed the project.
The PSC defended its action as an appropriate balance of interests.
'The commission believes this project could potentially have great impacts not only on West Virginia, but on the country as a whole concerning energy and the productive use of the state's energy resources,' said PSC spokeswoman Sarah Robertson.
Longview could become the first coal-fired plant to be built in West Virginia since the 80-megawatt Grant Town power plant went online in 1993.
All of Longview's output is slated for the wholesale electricity market outside West Virginia, while about 25 percent of the Fort Martin plant's generation currently heads to state consumers.
Longview says the plant will employ 60 people and create up to 1,600 construction jobs, then consume more than 2 million tons of coal a year when completed.
Opponents say it will create noise and air pollution, damage their views and cause harm to both their health and their environment. They also object to a payment in lieu of taxes agreement that Monongalia County officials approved in 2003.
The deal would give the county $105 million over 30 years. Without it, the PSC said, Longview would have built the plant in nearby Greene County, Pa., giving West Virginia all the negative impacts and none of the financial gain.
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