Ohio could eventually become the home of two new coal-fired power plants that combined would generate over 2,000 MW, NGI has learned. But a spokesperson for the Ohio Public Utility Commission (PUC) last Wednesday said that until the company or companies considering the plants actually announce an intention to construct the facilities, the state commission won’t disclose any additional information.

“There is consideration of an 830 MW, baseload facility in Ashtabula, OH, as well as a 1,200 MW facility in Conneaut, OH,” PUC spokesperson Shana Gerber said. “Both of those would be baseload and would be coal-fired facilities.” She could not confirm whether one company is considering both plants or whether two separate firms are involved.

“That’s all the information we can divulge at this time because until the applicant comes forward and holds a public hearing announcing its intention of actually going forward with the facility, we don’t give any more details,” Gerber said.

Formal applications for the plants have yet to be filed with the Ohio Power Siting Board. “Essentially, before an applicant even comes in to file an application, they have to hold a public hearing…to get public input and so that the public knows that they are considering moving forward with this application,” Gerber noted. “So, until they hold that public hearing, we don’t divulge what company is looking to do that.”

PUC Chairman Alan Schriber recently said that the state could get at least one application for a significant power plant site next year. Schriber made his comments in a briefing held for Ohio-based media outlets earlier this week.

“I think over the past year, we’ve had a lot of peaking facilities come into the state of Ohio and the chairman did say that he would like to see some baseload facilities come in because they do run continuously, where peaking plants mainly function when they’re needed,” Gerber said.

Schriber said that Ohio “tends to be a very good state for these facilities to come into because of the access to waterways, because we are a through state in terms of having four different borders where lines could come in through,” according to Gerber. “And so it was based on those factors that the chairman did think that we could get some more baseload facilities here in Ohio.”

Gerber said that since 1998, Ohio has had 25 new power plants developed in the state. “Over the next six years, the projection is that these plants would create an additional 16,083 MW of generating capacity here in Ohio, which would be a 40% increase for our state.”

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