A West Virginia community is counting on a 'miracle' to keep their power plant open. But questions remain.

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Environment
A West Virginia community is counting on a ‘miracle’ to keep their power plant open. But questions remain about its new owner
The state is betting $50 million on Omnis Energy’s promise of a ‘revolutionary’ new energy production technique. But the company, which has a history of unrepaid loans and lawsuits, hasn’t publicly shown its technology actually works.

by Taylor Kate Brown, Floodlight and Sarah Elbeshbishi
October 6th, 2024


Pleasants Power Station along West Virginia Route 2 in Pleasants County, West Virginia. September 27, 2024. Photo by Roger May

This story was produced in collaboration with Floodlight, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action.

ST MARYS — For Pleasants County native Rick Miller, landing a job at Pleasants Power Station after several years as an industrial contractor was a pivotal moment. It tripled his income, didn’t require him to travel and allowed him to cut down on the grueling hours he was previously working. ... “It was a very good job,” Miller said. “It changed my life actually.” ... For decades, the imposing facility in Willow Island alongside state Route 2 served as an economic powerhouse for the county, employing hundreds of workers from communities up and down the Ohio River Valley and providing millions in revenue to the county.

But a few years ago, much like other coal-fired power plants across the country, Pleasants’ future was looking increasingly unstable. Ownership of the plant had changed several times, including a bankruptcy. After a tumultuous few years, Miller decided to retire in 2021 after 20 years at the plant — slightly earlier than he originally planned. The uncertainty of the plant’s future was one of the reasons he left. ... “They were saying they were going to close and then they were going to stay open,” Miller said. “It was taking its toll on me mentally.”

As local and state officials scrambled to prevent Pleasants being shut down for good, Omnis Energy, a company relatively new to West Virginia, pitched them on a new chapter for the power station. The company’s plan promised “revolutionary” technology that would still make use of coal, produce a high-value mineral and generate greener electricity, as well as create new jobs and prevent the destruction of a plant that has been an essential part of this community for decades.

Those promises are now backed with a $50 million, 1% loan from the state’s economic development agency. But the plant’s — and the community’s — future now rests on an unproven technology and a company juggling multiple projects in West Virginia, with a history of loan defaults by the parent company and its CEO Simon Hodson.

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Sat Apr 27, 2024: On this day, April 27, 1978, 51 workers died in the deadliest construction accident in United States history.