Longview Plant
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Longview Plant is an operating power station of at least 808-megawatts (MW) in Maidsville, Monongalia, West Virginia, United States with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Longview I (coal-fire plant), Longview Power Clean Energy Center, Longview II (gas-fired plant), Mountain State Clean Energy Center.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Longview Plant | Maidsville, Monongalia, West Virginia, United States | 39.707893, -79.95897 (exact)[1] |
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- CC1, Unit 1: 39.707893, -79.95897
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year | Emergency/Backup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CC1 | Pre-construction[2][3][4] | fossil gas: natural gas [70%], other: hydrogen (unknown) [30%][5][6][7] | 1200[2][7][3][8] | combined cycle[7][9][3] | 2034 (planned)[2][10][3] | – | no |
| Unit 1 | Operating | coal: bituminous[11] | 808 | supercritical | 2011 | 2034 (planned)[12][3] | no |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| CC1 | Mountain State Clean Energy LLC [100%][2][8] | Mountain State Energy Holdings LLC [100.0%] |
| Unit 1 | Mountain State Energy Holdings LLC [100%] | Mountain State Energy Holdings LLC [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): domestic
Impacts
Potential emissions and details on the project's status and permit applications can be viewed on Oil and Gas Watch page here.
The Oil and Gas Watch database, created by Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), is a free, public-facing tool designed to track the rapid expansion of fossil fuel and petrochemical infrastructure in the United States. Oil and Gas Watch maps new and expanding oil, gas, and petrochemical infrastructure projects across the country and monitors each project’s construction status so the public can stay informed about major oil and gas developments being proposed in their communities. We track key environmental approvals companies must obtain before starting construction or operations and provide access to thousands of government records and permits unearthed by our analysts.
Emissions Data
- 2024 Gross Load (MWh): 4,029,510[13]
- 2024 SO2 Mass (short tons): 1,414[13]
- 2024 CO2 Mass (short tons): 3,467,332[13]
- 2024 NOx Mass (short tons): 1,069[13]
- 2023 Mercury emissions (Hg, lb): 8.0[14][15]
Background
The Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit was issued by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. In 2004, the Sierra Club filed an appeal against the air permit.[16] In Jan. 2007, final permits for the project were approved and the construction began.[17] On Feb. 13, 2007, a group including the Fort Martin Community Association and the Forks of Cheat Forest Property Owners Association filed a legal complaint against Longview Power, on the grounds that the project’s air permit expired in 2005.
On April 10, 2011, it was reported that the plant would start burning coal that month, making it the first new coal-fired power plant to start up in West Virginia in 18 years (since a 96-megawatt Grant Town Power Plant in 1992). Longview’s coal will come from an adjacent Mepco mine, in Pennsylvania. Longview is expected to burn about 2 million tons of coal per year, the majority from Mepco. The plant will employ 97 people.[18]
Longview Power hired a consulting firm in February 2010 to study the applicability of carbon capture and storage at the plant. The results of the study have not been released, and it appears that the facility will not employ CCS technology.[19]
Costs and company restructuring
The Longview Power project cost approximately US$2.2 billion.[20]
After the plant began operation in 2011, construction defects and competition from natural gas in the power markets lead to the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2013. In early 2015 the company reached a settlement of all construction claims, and two of its major contractors agreed to remediate plant defects at their own expense.[21]
Longview emerged from a bankruptcy restructuring in 2015, and was acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Centerbridge Capital, and other partners.[22]
In April 2020 Longview Power filed for bankruptcy again after low power prices and the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic impact.[23] That month Longview was approved for a loan from the taxpayer-funded Small Business Administration’s paycheck protection program. As part of the restructuring, Longview will hand a 90% stake to lenders that fund its path out of chapter 11 under its proposed bankruptcy plan, which requires court approval. As a result, plant investor KKR will lose nearly all of its roughly 40% stake in Longview.[24]
Acquisition by American Electric Power
In July 2026, American Electric Power (AEP) announced plans to acquire the Longview Plant, pending approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). AEP reportedly expected to complete the acquisition in Q4 2026 or Q1 2027.[25] According to additional reporting from July 2026, AEP outbid a data center developer in a competitive bidding process for the coal plant.[26]
Coal supply
Longview got most of its coal from the Mepco LLC 4 west mine in Greene County, Pa., which transports the coal to the plant on a 4.5-mile conveyor belt. The mine was owned by affiliated company Mepco LLC.[22] The underground mine was closed in 2018 due to adverse geological conditions and higher costs.[27]
Longview Power Clean Energy Center
Longview Power plans to build a 1,200-megawatt combined-cycle gas plant, alongside a 70-megawatt solar facility at the premises of the Longview plant.[28]
In February 2025, it was reported that the power plant was planning to install a measuring and regulating station that will be located around an already established gas pipeline for the Longview Power plant site. This will support the flow of gas and redevelopment of the plant into a combined-cycle gas-fired power plant with a solar array on the grounds. The work on the Longview Power plant renovations began back in 2020 when the West Virginia Public Service Commission approved having Longview Power begin construction by 2025. In November 2024, the West Virginia Public Service Commission granted an extension to Longview Power to to begin construction by April 2029 and to complete the project by April 2034.[28][29]
Citizen Groups
- Citizens for Alternatives to Longview Power
- West Virginia Sierra Club, Karen Grubb, kgrubb [at] fairmontstate.edu
- Appalachian Voices, outreach [at] appvoices.org
- West Virginia Environmental Council, Chuck Wyrostok, wyro [at] appalight.com
- Morgantown Citizens for Responsible Development, crdmorgantown [at] yahoo.com
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230509053328/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/. Archived from the original on 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://www.dominionpost.com/2024/10/11/longview-power-daughter-companies-ask-psc-for-extensions-to-build-and-begin-operating-gas-fired-power-plant/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Mon County Commission approves easement for Longview Power pipeline project". WAJR. 2025-02-19. Archived from the original on 2026-02-18. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
- ↑ https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/business/2025/12/connect-the-watts-ai-data-centers-may-be-crucial-for-coal-fired-power-natural-gas-production/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://longviewpower.com/news/804.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-01/mountain-state-energy-holdings-petition-for-rulemaking.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Expansion Projects". Longview Power. Archived from the original on 2024-02-06.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://wvmetronews.com/2022/01/05/construction-permit-issued-for-natural-gas-fired-expansion-at-longview-plant/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) http://www.psc.state.wv.us/press/2020/Press_20200403.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "PSC grants extensions for Longview Power projects". wvmetronews.com. 2024-11-24. Archived from the original on 2026-02-18. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
- ↑ https://www.gem.wiki/Coal_source_methodology_for_the_Global_Coal_Plant_Tracker.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Power Demand from Data Centers Keeping Coal-Fired Plants Online". POWER Magazine. 2024-10-17. Archived from the original on 2026-02-18. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 EIA (2024). "Clean Air Markets Program Data (CAMD)". Retrieved 2025-02-20.
- ↑ Clean Air and Power Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (February 2024). "Annual data 2022 vs. 2023". Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ↑ Toxics Release Inventory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (October 2024). "2023 Basic Plus Data". Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ↑ Jim Kotcon, “Sierra Club Appeals Air Pollution Permit for Longview Power Plant,” Mountain State Sierran, May 2004.
- ↑ GenPower website, accessed January 2008
- ↑ "Longview, First New W.Va. Coal Plant in 18 Years, Fires Up This Month" The Daily Journal, April 10, 2011.
- ↑ "Stopping the Coal Rush" Sierra Club, accessed November 2011.
- ↑ "Longview Wins Approval to Exit Chapter 11 Protection". Dow Jones Institutional News. March 16, 2015.
- ↑ "Longview Wins Approval to Exit Chapter 11 Protection". Dow Jones Institutional News. March 16, 2015.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "With Perry's backing, W.Va. power plant aims to prove 'clean coal' isn't a myth," SNL, July 13, 2017
- ↑ "Longview Power files for bankruptcy; cites low PJM prices, coronavirus impact " S&P Global, April 14, 2020
- ↑ Yerak, Becky (2020-04-14). "KKR-Backed Power Company Files for Bankruptcy After Tapping Stimulus Funds". WSJ. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ↑ “AEP reaches deal to acquire Longview Power Plant, gas-fired project site in Mon County,” Charleston Gazette-Mail, July 31, 2026
- ↑ “Coal back in favour as US plant bidding war highlights rising demand to power AI,” Financial Times, July 31, 2026
- ↑ "Greene County coal mine to close with 370 jobs lost" Bizjournals, January 1, 2018.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 "PSC Gives Longview Power Extension For Gas, Solar Projects". wvpublic.org. November 20, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Mon County Commission approves easement for Longview Power pipeline project". WAJR. February 19, 2025. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Additional data
To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
