A purchasing agreement could give new life to the Pleasants Power Plant. (File photo)

CHARLESTON — Federal regulators have approved the transfer of the Pleasants Power Plant near St. Marys to new owners with plans to produce hydrogen at the former coal-fired plant.

According to a filing Monday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized the transfer of Pleasants Power from Texas-based Energy Transition and Environmental Management to California-based Omnis Fuel Technologies after the two companies signed a purchase agreement last week.

“After consideration, it is concluded that the Proposed Transaction is consistent with the public interest and is authorized,” wrote Amery S. Pore, director of FERC’s Division of Electric Power Regulation – West.

The authorization was subject to conditions, including keeping FERC informed of any changes in the application and as long as FERC retains authority to issue future orders.

The plant was transferred to a new LLC, Quantum Pleasants. According to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, Quantum Pleasants’ offices are in Morgantown and registered under the name of Randall Smith, the chief financial officers for Omnis.

Pleasants Power is an approximately 1,278-megawatt coal-fired plant located in Pleasants County just south of Belmont. The plant most recently operated as a wholesale merchant power generator, selling its power on PJM Interconnection’s regional market instead of directly to ratepayers.

The plant’s previous owners, Energy Harbor (formerly FirstEnergy Solutions), had been leasing the plant from ETEM and producing power up to the end of May and maintaining the plant through June as ETEM and Omnis negotiated a purchase agreement.

According to the filing, Omnis is a subsidiary of Omnis Global Technologies, a self-described clean energy technology and biodegradable plastics company. Its projects include CONSOL Energy’s clean coal project, the development of biodegradable containers for restaurants and retail.

In the joint application filed on June 8, Omnis said it plans to use Pleasants Power to produce hydrogen. The companies had asked for FERC approval by Monday in order to take Pleasants Power out of mothballed status after Aug. 1. The purchasing agreement required FERC approval by July 31, otherwise the agreement would be void. Pleasants Power would be the first electric generation facility owned by Omnis.

“Upon closing of the transaction, (Omnis) intends to bring the Pleasants Power Station out of its current mothballed state and commence work to build a hydrogen production facility and to convert the Pleasants Power Station’s coal-fired boilers to hydrogen,” according to the joint application.

Energy Harbor announced last year it would shut down Pleasants Power at the end of May, though it asked FERC to change the plants status to “mothballed” through July 31. The plant was first slated to be shut down in 2018, but deactivation was delayed to 2022. Deactivation was put on hold again in 2019 thanks to a tax break approved by the Legislature.