Coal-fired power plant in Pleasants County, WV
Editorial from the Beckley Register-Herald, June 3, 2022
Chris Hamilton, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, made a preposterous late game pitch this past week, calling for partial government ownership of the economically endangered Pleasants Power Station. He wants the West Virginia Public Energy Authority – a body whose members are appointed by the governor and whose mission is to foster, encourage, and promote the mineral development industry in West Virginia – to throw whatever weight it might have behind the survival of an ailing power plant, which like most all other coal-fired facilities across the country has been on life support in recent years. By way of example, company executives are planning for the sale or deactivation of the Pleasants County facility by 2023 – next year.
But not to be dissuaded, Hamilton would like the state to help the plant remain operational and burn more coal well into the future, not because that would be in the best interests of the taxpayers who would be putting up the jack to foot the purchase, but rather of the people who sign his paycheck.
We the people are not paid to represent the special interests of an ailing industry and, as such, are more interested in having our tax dollars invested prudently in a more promising future of energy solutions, not the tired and fading answers of the past.
As you may remember, the state already has some skin in the game with the facility at Willow Island. The Legislature, at Gov. Jim Justice’s calling, met in special session in 2019 and provided First Energy Solutions, owner of Pleasants Power Station and going through bankruptcy at the time, an annual $12.5 million tax exemption. And even after that, the place is still odds on favorite to close up shop.
Of a similar narrative, state officials have recently taken steps to save the remaining coal-burning power plants around West Virginia with the Public Service Commission giving two thumbs up to wastewater projects at three plants owned by American Electric Power. The commission is expected to approve similar projects at two more owned by First Energy, which once owned Pleasants before selling it to Energy Harbor.
When completed, the projects will allow all five plants to remain operational beyond 2028. The companies’ customers? They will get stuck with the bill – on a monthly basis.
And this is the game and the people that get played time and again in this state – and at the end of the day it is the taxpayers and the rate payers who get stuck with the bill of sale. They are the ones who are funding these projects through tax breaks and the like. They are the ones taking all of the risk and receiving, in return, a bigger monthly utility bill.
This is a state that for too long has played by the rules of the Good Ol’ Boys in gas and oil, rules and laws that favor coal barons like our governor and others who promise jobs, jobs, jobs and then leave an environmental mess in the wake of another coal mine closing for we the people to clean up and drink the contaminated water.
Make no mistake, what Hamilton is calling for is government owning a significant share of a private enterprise – one, in this case, that is in decline. Thanks, but we will take a pass, Mr. Hamilton.
Now, let’s talk about passing legislation that would pave the way of the renewable energy industry in this state. Like it or not, that is the future, and that is the investment that will pay dividends.
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Gazette-Mail editorial: Why coal industry is distraught over ‘socialism’ | Editorial | wvgazettemail.com, June 8, 2022
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See Also: Willow Island disaster 40 years ago — Ceremony will mark the anniversary of the cooling tower tragedy that killed 51, Jess Mancini, Marietta Times, April 27, 2018
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“Climate change isn’t an ‘issue’ to add to the list of things to worry about, next to health care and taxes. It is a civilizational wake-up call.”
– Naomi Klein
How to Change Everything: A Conversation with Naomi Klein, May 10, 2021
YouTube Video ~ https://youtu.be/AYC_O2jDZzg
Naomi Klein is a globally renowned author who has turned her powerful voice to support young activists with her new young adult book, “How to Change Everything: The Young Human’s Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other.” Naomi spoke in conversation with Dr. Marc Aronson, co-author of “Poisoned Water: How the Citizens of Flint, Michigan Fought for Their Lives and Warned the Nation.”
Professor Joyce Valenza and her students introduced a digital toolkit packed with youth activism resources to use in your library or classroom. The panel and audience was welcomed by Jonathan Potter, Dean of the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University.
Naomi Klein is the inaugural Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University, and an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and international and New York Times bestselling author of: “How To Change Everything: The Young Human’s Guide to Protecting the Earth and Each Other” (2021), “On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal” (2019), “No Is Not Enough: Resisting the New Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need” (2017), “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate” (2014), “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism” (2007) and “No Logo” (2000). In 2018, she published “The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes On the Disaster Capitalists” (2018) reprinted from her feature article for The Intercept with all royalties donated to Puerto Rican organization juntegente.org.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYC_O2jDZzg