The news resonated loudly from the Oval Office to Grant County. A next generation coal-fired electric power plant with advanced efficiency and emissions capture technology is on its way to Grant County.
Terra Spark received $18.5 million from the United States Department of Energy to construct an energy campus in Mount Storm near the existing plant operated by Dominion. Upon completion, it will generate 1.6 gigawatts of power while also using “Waste to Value” emissions capture technology.
“When it was announced at the Oval Office, we were excited. We’re extremely excited about the opportunity,” shared Grant County Commission President Kevin Haggerty, who added that “we want to be one of the energy capitals of West Virginia.” He noted that Grant County has embraced the “all of the above” energy development model touted by United States Senator Shelley Moore Capito and others.
Grant County currently has a coal-fired plant and a windfarm, with hydrogen fuel production slated to come in the not-too-distant-future as well.
“We’re very thankful for everyone who had a hand in this, especially President Trump,” stated Haggerty.
One of the first public mentions of a project such as this at Mount Storm came in a meeting of the Seneca Rocks Regional Development Authority in Franklin in September 2024. Mark Bayliss, a member at the time of the Federal Communications Commission advisory council and president of the West Virginia Broadband co-op came to present.
The proposal at the time envisioned that a microgrid style plant would pump excess carbon dioxide into large greenhouses, which enables 200 percent faster growth with 60 percent less water. It is unclear if this aspect is a part of Terra Spark’s plan at this point. It is also not clear yet from where TerraSpark will purchase the coal for its plant.
In a release from TerraSpark, said Bill Tolpegin, partner at the company “Electricity demand in the United States is growing rapidly, and we need infrastructure that can keep up. This project is about delivering reliable power when it’s needed, creating skilled, good-paying jobs, and helping advance carbon management technologies that strengthen America’s energy future.”
TerraSpark’s website illustrates some of the new technology that will be used on what they call their “energy campus.” To address water usage concerns, the plant will utilize a closed loop system that keeps the same water in use all of the time with minimal need to take in more or discharge.
The “Waste to Value” system will take other byproducts commonly cast out by similar plants and “converting them into useful products.” As of now plans center around creating materials for use in the construction industry with an eye to “other marketable outputs.”
Haggerty shared that the plant will create approximately 500 jobs and explained that it would require a large number of workers to help with construction. Furthermore, he shared that revenues from the new development will bring a boost to the county’s tax revenues and help to pay for needed services.
He added that many have asked him if the plant was built to specifically serve data centers. The Commission President explained that the construction of this and other plants is meant to create sufficient supply to meet power demands going forward in West Virginia and other states.
While data centers do consume power on a large scale, the digitalization of recreation and entertainment has also placed increasing demands on the grid. More power plants are necessary to ensure that customers have a consistent supply of electric power, particularly in times of peak need such as the hot summer and cold winter months.
West Virginia is part of the PJM Interconnection system. Power produced here goes into the multi-state network that serves the Mountain State and many others in the Mid Atlantic going into the Midwest. There is no possible gateway in existence, nor would one be practical if it did, that ensures that “the electrons” as engineers in the field state, will stay in one place and not flow into another unless the network of powerlines was self-contained, which none are or will be. Additionally, power exported from West Virginia means outside dollars returning to the state.
Should supplies of power constrict while demand increases, either power will be rationed or the price will rise to significantly high levels. Rationed power means periods without access to electric, as many Third World nations generally experience due to lack of infrastructure in power plants, power lines, or both.
The White House in a statement shared that the creation of new power plants, which will increase supply considerably, will help to save $50 billion in energy costs by creating ample supplies.
During the Oval Office event, Governor Patrick Morrissey told the President “All West Virginians are deeply grateful to you for your focus on protecting their energy jobs. Coal miners know the incredible importance of why we are here today.”
Haggerty stated that Commissioners have shared with the Governor that “Grant County is looking for opportunities “beneficial to the citizens and the tax base.”
Governor Morrissey has touted the expansion of power generation capacity in West Virginia as a signature policy. While in the early industrial era, raw materials were extracted and shipped out of state for further production or refinement, today’s push envisions upstream, midstream, and downstream financial and other benefits to the Mountain State.
President Donald Trump stated that the measure would in total “protect 14 coal plants and 42 coal mines.” The Grant County project is one of two new coal plants planned for West Virginia.
He also shared that $350 million would go towards upgrades to a coal fired plant in Puerto Rico, an American territory struggling with an archaic plant and grid system for many years.
