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Clean Energy Future is a step closer to building a new natural gas-fired power plant in Lordstown
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Clean Energy Future is a step closer to building a new natural gas-fired power plant in Lordstown, after a hearing this week in Columbus.
The session before an administrative judge was the last step before the Ohio Power Siting Board gives its final approval for the proposed $800 million, 800-megawatt facility, to be built on 17 acres along state Route 45 in the Lordstown Industrial Park.
The board reviews plans for new power plants, via a months-long process that includes public hearings and consideration by legal counsel.
After this week’s adjudicatory hearing, Clean Energy Future’s proposal will be added to an agenda of the full Power Siting Board, said Matt Shilling, spokesman for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The board meets monthly.
Pending final approval, construction on the facility would begin in coming months, with a targeted operation date of May 2018, according to documents.
Power Siting Board staff already have determined the project complies with state law and other requirements and would have minimum adverse environmental impacts on the area.
The hearing included testimony from the company and a FirstEnergy affiliate involved in the project, Shilling said. He added that the project was not in dispute, and testimony to date has been in support of the facility.