FirstEnergy to Shutter Six Older Power Plants
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
27 January 2012
By Don Hopey
In a move applauded by environmental and public health advocacy
groups, FirstEnergy Corp. will shut down power generating units at
six old and dirty coal-fired power plants, including one along the
Allegheny River in Armstrong County.
The Akron, Ohio-based electric power company announced Thursday
that it will close the 356-megawatt Armstrong Power Plant in
Adrian, Armstrong County, by September, rather than install
federally mandated pollution controls. The 53-year-old plant
employs 60, but has been operating at only 20 to 50 percent
capacity for the past three years due to reduced power demands.
FirstEnergy will also shutter four other coal-fired power plants
in Ohio and Maryland and one of two generating units at a fifth,
the Bayshore Plant on Lake Erie in Ohio. The average age of the
plants that will close is 55 years old.
Like Armstrong, all of the other power plants are "peaking"
plants, meaning they are used only at times of peak electric power
demand.
"Above all, this is a win for public health and for families who
have been breathing polluted air from these outdated plants," said
Bruce Niles, senior director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal
Campaign.
Charlie Lasky, FirstEnergy vice president for fossil fleet
operations, said the decision to close the power plants was made
because it isn't cost effective to install pollution control
upgrades to meet new federal Mercury and Air Toxics Rules that
were finalized in December and take effect in 2015.
The rules target emissions from coal and oil-fired power plants,
some of which have very few controls on their emissions of mercury
and other air toxics. The only pollution control on the Armstrong
Power Plant is an "electrostatic precipitator," designed to remove
dust and soot particles from the exhaust gases.
Charlie Lasky, FirstEnergy vice president for fossil fleet
operations, wouldn't say how much it would cost to install new
pollution controls on the Armstrong plant, but allowed that the
price would be "significant."
The closings will affect a total of 530 employees, but some may be
able to transfer to other FirstEnergy facilities if there are
openings, the company said.
In addition to Armstrong, R.P. Smith and one of two units at
Bayshore, FirstEnergy will close power plants in Ashtabula and
Eastlake, Ohio.
Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.