Meeting scheduled on proposed Nemacolin power plant
A public meeting will be held next month on plans by Hill Top Energy Center LLC to construct a natural gas-fired power plant on the property of the former Nemacolin Mine in Cumberland Township.
The 536-megawatt plant will be constructed on a 41.7-acre site off Thomas Road.
The meeting, which will provide residents with information on the company’s project, will be at 7 p.m. April 25, in the United Mine Workers union hall in Nemacolin.
Hill Top Energy has applied for an air quality permit for the project from the state Department of Environmental Protection and staff from DEP’s air quality and clean water programs will be in attendance. According to the permit application, the plant will consist of a natural gas-fired, combine cycle combustion turbine generator.
It will have selective catalytic reduction equipment to reduce nitrogen oxides emissions and oxidation catalysts to reduce carbon monoxide and volatile organic compound emissions, the application said.
The plant will employ “best available control technology” and have continuous emissions monitoring equipment to assure environmental compliance. It also will include noise suppression enclosures and silencers.
Water from the Monongahela River will be used in the plant’s cooling system. Waste water will be treated and returned to the river.
Hill Top Energy, based in Huntington Bay, N.Y., plans to begin construction early next year provided all the necessary permits are received. Construction is expected to take about 24 months. The plant will create about 110 jobs, the company said.
The site of the plant is owned by Greene Energy Resources, an affiliate of Wellington Development WVDT LLC. Several years ago, Wellington had proposed constructing a coal-waste burning power plant at the site.