Groundbreaking Held for Willow Island Hydroelectric Plant
$300 million project will need 200 to 400 construction workers
The State Journal
21 July 2011
A groundbreaking ceremony today marked the official start of
construction on the new hydroelectric power plant on the Ohio River at
the Willow Island Locks and Dam.
The plant in Pleasants County will add 35 megawatts of new, renewable
generation to the region.
The Willow Island plant will cost more than $300 million and employ 200
to 400 construction workers. When finished, it will provide seven to
nine permanent operating positions. The project is expected to begin
generating power in late 2014.
AMP already owns and operates the hydroelectric generating station at
the Belleville Locks and Dam in Wood County. Including Willow Island,
it is in the process of building six plants on the Ohio River in West
Virginia and Kentucky. Those plants will generate 300 megawatts total.
“The aggressive hydroelectric generation development being undertaken
by AMP is designed to help our member communities diversify their power
supply portfolio and increase their use of renewable generation,” AMP
President/CEO Marc Gerken said. “The anticipated life of these projects
means that generations to come will benefit from what we’re doing
today. It is a large part of a coordinated effort to reduce our
members’ dependence on the wholesale market and create balanced power
supply at predictable costs. At the same time, this development effort
is creating jobs and economic development in the region.”