CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Appalachian Power has announced its desire to acquire two wind facilities.
In a news release today, the power company announced it is asking for approval from the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the Public Service Commission of West Virginia.
The power company hopes to acquire the Hardin wind facility in Ohio and the Beech Ridge II wind facility in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Both wind projects are under development by Invenergy, LLC.
“We are continuing our transition to an energy company of the future and further diversifying our power generation portfolio. These acquisitions move us in that direction,” Chris Beam, Appalachian Power president and chief operating officer, stated in today’s news release.
“Direct ownership and operation of these facilities will give our employees new experiences in the planning, production and delivery of power from diverse generating assets as Appalachian continues to add renewable resources in the years ahead.”
At a Coal Forum last week in Charleston, Appalachian Power spokeswoman Jeri Matheney said coal remains a strong part of the utility’s energy portfolio and will into the future. But Matheney also said the company is branching out to use additional forms of energy, particularly renewables.
Matheney noted that her own company has made headlines over statements that it won’t be building any new coal-burning power plants. But she said the reasons are multifaceted.
“People see that as shocking because we’re right in the middle of coal country, but the reality is that shouldn’t be a surprise, and it’s not bad news because we are heavily invested in coal in West Virginia, and that’s not going to change,” Matheny said.
But changing demand for power is affecting decisions by companies like Appalachian Power too, Matheney said.
“Demand is not going up. For decades, demand for electricity is not going up. It’s not any more. A lot of that is energy efficiency. People’s usage is changing,” she said.
She added that the mix of the utility’s energy sources is likely to expand.
The declining cost of wind resources and the extension of the Federal Production Tax Credit make the purchase of these wind facilities beneficial for customers, Appalachian said in its news release.
Such purchases also improve Appalachian’s fuel diversity, and increase the company’s flexibility to develop and offer renewable products for its customers, power company leaders said.
“We do plan to introduce small amounts of wind power. We do hope to introduce solar some day, maybe even some battery technology, but we’ll still be a coal-fired utility in many ways; we’ll depend on coal for a long time,” Matheney said last week.
Appalachian Power’s decisions will often depend on price.
“Usually coal wins in that argument, but sometimes nowadays natural gas can win because natural gas prices are so low. And, wind can win in that argument as well,” Matheney said last week at the Coal Forum at the state Culture Center.
Right now Appalachian has a total of 375 megawatts of wind generation and an additional 120 megawatts coming on line in 2018 from the Bluff Point Wind Farm in Indiana.
If approval is granted for the two additional wind facilities, Appalachian will have more than 1,000 megawatts of wind and hydro generation, enough to power more than 230,000 homes.
Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states.