If Allegheny buys Longview, Will they shut down their Fort Martin plant?
• As stated earlier, Allegheny is not buying Longview and is not going to close any of its power plants because of Longview. The Clean Air Act was strengthened in 1977, but it allowed power plants operational before 1977 (and that includes Allegheny power plants at Rivesville [built in 1943 and 1951], Albright [built in 1952 and 1954], Fort Martin [1967 and 1968], Hatfield’s Ferry [1969 to 1971], and Harrison [1972 to 1974]) to be exempt from the cleaner New Source Review provisions unless a ”significant modification” is made to the plant. Conveniently, no modifications they make to their plants is ever deemed ”significant.” Advocates for Longview have adopted the mantra that the new power plant can produce electricity cheaper than old power plants (they like to use the Fort Martin power plant for comparison) and therefore old power plants will close. Can a new plant that costs almost $3 Billion to build and must conform to stricter pollution standards generate electricity cheaper
