WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV (WVDN) — Gov. Jim Justice announced that Omnis Fuel Technologies will invest $800 million in the Pleasants Power Plant and create an estimated 600 jobs. Omnis Fuel specializes in developing, licensing, and commercializing innovative technologies to aid sustainable energy production.
The coal-fired plant restarted the production of electricity Wednesday morning, saving more than 160 West Virginia jobs.
“I am so excited to make this announcement today,” Gov. Justice said. “For the first time ever, the Pleasants Power Plant, a coal-fired power plant, is taking new life right in front of our eyes. Today, I am here to share with you that Omnis Fuel Technologies has re-started the Pleasants Power Plant and is on the grid today.
“Coal is such an important part of our economy and our state’s history, and Omnis will use coal to produce hydrogen, graphite, and water vapor. They are going to more than double the amount of coal they need to operate the plant annually.”
Located south of St. Marys in Pleasants County, the plant currently employs approximately 160 workers. When their expansion is complete, the plant will need upwards of 600 employees to operate. The 1.2 gigawatt coal-fired plant will be retrofitted to generate electricity with hydrogen. The goal is to produce power with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
“Omnis worked diligently with state and community leaders to maintain every job and ensure no employee lost even one hour of payroll during the recovery and restart of the power plant plant,” Michelle Christian, Vice President of Omnis Fuel, said. “This is a historic moment, and we are proud to be a part of helping West Virginia maintain critical power capability in the state and preserve 1.2 gigawatts of power generating capacity, enough electricity to sustain one million homes.”
Omnis Fuel strives to make clean hydrogen and high-grade graphite from plentiful, low-cost hydrocarbons, leverage and retrofit existing power plant infrastructure, and enable high-density energy storage with low-cost, abundant graphite.
Their patented technology, Ultra-High Temperature Omnis Quantum Pyrolysis (OQP), generates hydrogen fuel and utilizes the existing hydrocarbon supply systems and power plants to preserve jobs in current industries while generating additional employment in new clean technology markets.
“We drove down Route 2 with tears in our eyes as we watched the cooling towers producing,” Pleasants County Commission President Jay Powell said. “We also have the main stack producing now, too. Governor, thanks to you, thanks to the State of West Virginia, and thanks to the Good Lord above, we are doing something in West Virginia that no one else has done before. We can’t be more thankful than we are today.”
