FirstEnergy subsidiaries select site for new 1.2 GW natural gas plant in West Virginia

Mon Power and Potomac Edison, subsidiaries of FirstEnergy, have selected a 35-acre site next to the companies’ Fort Martin Power Station in Maidsville, W. Va., as the home of a new 1,200-MW natural gas power plant.

If approved by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC), site work would begin as early as 2027, with the plant coming online in late 2031. The companies say they expect a decision from the commission within the next year.

The natural gas plant is a key part of Mon Power and Potomac Edison’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which also calls for continued operation of the Fort Martin and Harrison power plants and adds new solar resources.

“The Fort Martin Power Station is already an important part of our power infrastructure, and this new plant builds on that strength,” said Jim Myers, FirstEnergy’s President of West Virginia and Maryland. “By adding modern natural gas generation alongside our existing plants, we are making sure families and businesses across West Virginia have the reliable and affordable power they depend on today and for years to come.”

Mon Power and Potomac Edison are also seeking approval for 70 MW of new solar generation, as described in the IRP. These proposed projects would be built on former industrial and reclaimed mine lands, including:

• A 50-megawatt project on a 188-acre former strip mine at a private airfield in Valley Point
• An 8.4-megawatt project on a 51-acre site surrounding a Mon Power substation in the Wylie Ridge area of Weirton
• An 11.5-megawatt project on a 44-acre reclaimed strip mine property in Davis

These new sites would complement the companies’ existing solar portfolio of 30 MW already constructed since 2024 on brownfield and former industrial sites.