FORT MARTIN, W.Va. — Mon Power has filed plans with the state Public Service Commission to build a new 1,200-MW natural gas-fired power plant on land adjacent to the coal-fired Fort Martin Power Station north of Morgantown and three solar arrays.
The combined-cycle power plant is a $2.84 billion investment in the Monongalia County operation.
“We have selected a 35-acre site next to the Fort Martin Power Station for a 1,200-megawatt gas-fired power plant that will help keep power reliable and affordable for West Virginia families and businesses,” Mon Power spokesman Will Boye said on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town” Monday.
The project will create hundreds of construction jobs, and when complete, it will take as many as three dozen new workers to operate the facility for decades to come, Boye said.
“Construction of the new plant is expected to support more than 2,000 jobs and generate more than $258 million in state and local tax revenue,” Boye said.
According to Boye, the addition will help the company deal with skyrocketing demand for electricity due to data center primarily.
“Not only does it help us meet customer demand going forward for families and businesses in West Virginia, but it also does create high-quality jobs, generate new tax revenues for the state, and strengthen local economies,” Boye said.
The company will lean into their Integrated Resource Plan by expanding their solar generation capacity at three locations in the northern part of the state. The three sites will significantly add to their current capacity of 30 megawatts.
“We’ve also proposed 70 megawatts of solar facilities,” Boye said. “Three different solar facilities will be built on industrial property we also own in Preston, Hancock, and Tucker counties.”
Boye said the Integrated Resource Plan will continue to rely heavily on the use of coal. Federal funds will be used to upgrade the John Amos plant in Putnam County, the Mountaineer Plant in Mason County, and the Fort Martin Power Station in Monongalia County as part of an executive order requiring military installations to use electricity generated from coal.
“That’s why we’re proposing that we add the natural gas, add the solar, and continue operations at Fort Martin and the Harrison Power Station for years to come so we can continue to meet the rising demand we’re seeing,” Boye said.
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA)Â has a news conference scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the UMWA District 17 Office in Charleston with UMWA President Brian Sanson and other labor leaders to voice their opposition to proposed construction projects and the use of natural gas.