The two coal-fired plants to be deactivated are Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station located in Masontown and Mitchell Power Station in Courtney.
The total capacity of the two plants together is 2,080MW, which is equivalent to 10% of FirstEnergy’s total generating capacity.
FirstEnergy reached the decision to shut down the plants following a cost estimation that appears non-feasible to upgrade the facilities in order to meet the future environmental regulations of the country.
In addition, the low electricity prices in the market have also played an important role in reaching the decision, according to a company statement.
According to FirstEnergy, the company will have to bear 30% of the estimated cost of $925m to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).
The company is planning to invest around $650m in MATS-related control technology to further improve or modify its existing air quality equipment or install new equipment on its remaining facilities and reduce the emissions.
