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Company receives final permit for natural gas power plant at Hatfield’s Ferry

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The now-shuttered Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station is shown on the banks of the Monongahela River.

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APV Renaissance Partners Opco LLC unveiled plans at a meeting at the Carmichaels fire hall in April 2017 for the construction of a natural gas power plant at the site of the closed Hatfield’s Ferry Power Plant.

APV Renaissance Partners Opco LLC received the last environmental permit it needed to move forward with plans to construct a 1,000-megawatt, natural gas power plant at the closed Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station in Monongahela Township, Greene County.

The company was informed by the state Department of Environmental Protection that an air-quality permit for the plant has been issued, though it is awaiting receipt of official permit documents, said David Neurohr, company spokesman.

DEP press secretary Neil Shader affirmed the permit was issued and said it would be emailed to the company. Information on the DEP e-facts website indicates the decision on the permit was issued Thursday.

With the receipt of the air-quality permit, the company will have all the permits necessary to proceed with the project, Neurohr said.

“As soon as we develop a construction timeline and have financing in place, we’ll be ready to start,” Neurohr said.

Completing the project financing had been contingent on receipt of the permits, he said. “Our intent is to break ground before the end of the year.”

APV Renaissance Partners, based in Barnardsville, N.J., proposes to build the plant on 33 acres of property at the site of First Energy Corp.’s retired coal-fired power plant. APV Renaissance unveiled plans for the new plant at a public meeting in April 2017 at Carmichaels fire hall.

The company will build the plant on the northern part of the Hatfield’s Ferry property, bordering the Monongahela River. The property includes the former coal-fired power plant’s two cooling towers. APV plans to use one of the towers in the operation of the new plant, while the other tower will be demolished.

The new power plant, which will employ a combined-cycle generation process, is estimated to cost $600 million to $700 million, the company said earlier. The project will create about 800 jobs at peak construction. When in operation, the plant will employ about 25 workers.

First Energy closed the Hatfield’s Ferry Power Plant in October 2013, citing low electric prices and the costs of complying with environmental regulations. First Energy will sell the 33 acres to APV, but will retain the remaining 200 acres at the site, which includes the closed power plant.

Another energy company, Hill Top Energy Center LLC of Huntington Bay, N.Y., also proposed constructing a natural gas power plant in Greene County. Hill Top plans to build a 620-megawatt plant on 41 acres of land off Thomas Road in Cumberland Township.

Hill Top Energy earlier received all necessary environmental permits for the project. Earlier this month, the Cumberland Township Planning Commission granted conditional final approval to the company’s plans. Final approval will be granted upon receipt of an approved erosion and sedimentation control plan and a stormwater management plan.

Hill Top officials said the company hopes to begin construction early next year.

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