Byrd Hails AEP Decision to Build in Mason County -- Governor's Focus on High-Tech Industry Welcome
The decision by American Electric Power (AEP) to build a new 600-megawatt clean coal power plant in West Virginia was welcomed with open arms by Senator Byrd.
"It is wise for AEP to build this plant in West Virginia. I'm very excited about this announcement. I think that AEP chose the right place," Byrd said.
During West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin's State of the State address in Charleston on Wednesday night, he announced that AEP's subsidiary, Appalachian Power, had applied for authority to construct the 600 megawatt power plant in Mason County. The plans call for this plant to utilize technology called integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) -- a high-tech term for a plant that can gasify coal and turn it into electricity and other products at better efficiencies and with lower emissions than traditional combustion power plants.
"This new West Virginia power plant will mean an infusion of new jobs, construction of a 21st century facility, and a continued commitment to West Virginia coal. This new plant will be a mainstay of West Virginia for many years to come," Byrd stated.
"We've got to be energy independent. We can't rely on foreign countries to provide us with the fuels that we need. America has the resources here at home to break the chains of foreign oil and meet our energy demands with our own resources and innovations," Byrd said.
The Wednesday filing with the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) is the first step required before the company could proceed with construction of a plant.
Byrd has worked in the Senate to create America's "brain power" for such technologies, leading the way for research and development funding at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), based in Morgantown, W.Va. In addition, he has talked with Governor Manchin about the importance of potential new AEP investments in West Virginia.
"A new power plant, utilizing IGCC technologies, will demonstrate what I have believed for a long time, namely, that energy production and environmental protection can work in tandem. We can burn coal more cleanly and efficiently, and we can find new ways to address climate change," Byrd said.
The West Virginia lawmaker also applauded Governor Manchin's focus on attracting new high-tech investments to the Mountain State.
"We've been doing a lot in North Central West Virginia, in the Northern Panhandle, and in the Eastern Panhandle. We've got to bring that momentum and that progress to all of West Virginia. We can do it. It's time we used our savvy and took firm grasp of the 21st century," Byrd explained.
"For a long time, we've depended on our muscle power - - our arms and our backs. But we've got to use our brain power, our ingenuity, in the future. One way to do that is to develop new technology industries in the state," Byrd said.
http://byrd.senate.gov/newsroom/news_jan/aep_high_tech.html