Natural gas-fired power plant project in WVa tabled for now

WELLSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A company that received state approval for a loan guarantee for West Virginia’s first natural gas-fired power plant said it has stopped the project for now.

Energy Solutions Consortium of Buffalo, New York, announced in a news release Friday that the project in Brooke County has been put on hold “due to changing conditions in the energy and financial markets,” news outlets reported.

The West Virginia Economic Development Authority approved a $5.5 million loan guarantee for the project in September.

The company’s statement said it is “evaluating alternative options to move forward.”

The project would have brought more than 1,000 construction jobs alone to build the plant on the site of a reclaimed strip mine.

Gov. Jim Justice had questioned why the project’s developers would need state funding. He also wanted the plant to be built with in-state labor and utilize natural gas produced in West Virginia.

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