Kentucky Power Cleared to Build $191 Million Cooling Tower in West Virginia, Contingent on $51 Million DOE Grant
Kentucky's Public Service Commission has approved Kentucky Power's plan to build a new cooling tower at the Mitchell coal plant in West Virginia, at a cost of $191 million. The Mitchell plant, near Moundsville, is 50 percent owned by Kentucky Power.
The approval carries conditions: the project must also win approval from West Virginia's Public Service Commission, and Kentucky Power and its sister company Wheeling Power must receive a $51 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to offset costs to customers. The new tower will replace a 55-year-old concrete cooling tower that is structurally compromised and at risk of failure. Company spokeswoman Sarah Lynch welcomed the decision in a statement, calling it an important investment.
Kentucky Power acquired its half share of Mitchell more than a decade ago to replace coal generation at the Big Sandy plant in Lawrence County; late last year, Kentucky's commission approved the company keeping its 50 percent stake beyond 2028. The utility's roughly 162,000 customers pay some of the highest bills in the state, and the commission opened an investigation into its management and operations in July. (GSM, based on reporting by WEKU)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 2.0，w_lemay 摄，Mitchell 电厂）
