Cheswick Power Plant to Retire as Economic Prospects for Coal Plummet

PITTSBURGH – For 51 years, the coal-fired Cheswick Generating Station has polluted the air and water northeast of Pittsburgh. Last night GenOn Holdings, Inc. announced that the plant will retire in September of this year. The Sierra Club previously sued GenOn to hold the company accountable for violating its water permit and discharging heated wastewater into the Allegheny River. 

The final decision was likely driven by low prices in the PJM capacity auction, which were announced last week. This is the auction held by the regional grid operator for power plants to be available when needed, even if they don’t operate, and is intended to ensure reliability. These standby payments have become increasingly important to Cheswick as its generation rate has declined significantly in recent years.

Cheswick has been a major emitter of nitrogen oxides (NOx) that contribute to dangerous ground-level ozone or smog, as well as sulfur dioxide pollution and many other air pollutants. Until 2010, the plant lacked industry-standard controls for sulfur dioxide pollution. Throughout much of the last decade, the plant opted not to operate its NOx pollution controls, choosing instead to buy pollution credits and contributing to the region’s failure to meet federal standards for smog. This practice continued until public pressure forced the state to tighten NOx pollution limits on coal-fired power plants in 2017.

The plant was facing capital expenses to install new pollution controls to reduce the amount of heavy metals discharged into the Allegheny River, and has been violating its permit by dumping excessively hot water into the river as well. It is the only large coal plant in Pennsylvania without cooling towers to reduce this thermal pollution. 

In addition to the Cheswick power plant, GenOn also announced its plan to retire Avon Lake Generating Station in Ohio, and accelerate by five years the retirement of Morgantown Generating Station Units 1 and 2 in Maryland. 

In response, Tom Schuster, Pennsylvania’s Clean Energy Program Director for Sierra Club said the following:

“GenOn has finally come to terms with economic reality. This aging coal plant has become too expensive and has polluted Allegheny County’s air and water for far too long. And it’s right to close a major source of pollution if it can’t afford to be compliant with federal law. We hope elected leaders will take the initiative in finding ways to redevelop the site and support the communities who have depended on the Cheswick power plant for 50 years. Targeted investment of allowance proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative could provide an important funding source for this transition.”

In response, Laura Jacko, area resident, said the following:

“As a local Sierra Club member and mother of a young child, I and other local parents have long been concerned about the pollution from this plant affecting our children's health. This announcement is a welcome step towards cleaning up the air quality in Allegheny County. It is my hope that GenOn and our elected officials will do the right thing and assist displaced workers in finding training and jobs, and that the plant location will be quickly remediated and renovated into an environmentally friendly economic asset to the area.” 

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