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Investment Firm Threatens 2nd Lordstown Electric Plant, $30B @ Risk

Update: 7/19/17: An MDN subscriber with inside knowledge of what’s happening wrote to MDN to clarify our post. Magna Seating is the car seat manufacturer. They LOVE Clean Energy Future and both plants. In fact, Magna’s union shop chairman has said he will testify in favor of CEF’s second plant at the public hearing being held next Tuesday, July 25th. However, the landlord that owns the building Magna works in–Vienna Investments–is the one attempting to make trouble for CEF in building a second plant. Here’s the kicker: Vienna knew about CEF’s plans for the second plant BEFORE they bought the building Magna works in. Stands to reason if Vienna had an objection, they might have expressed it when they bought the building–or would not have purchased it in the first place. Which makes us wonder, what game is Vienna playing? Why are they objecting now?

Last June, Clean Energy Future broke ground on the Lordstown (Trumbull County, OH) Energy Center, a Utica Shale-powered electric generating plant that is projected to contribute nearly $1 billion to the local economy (see Lordstown Energy Center Breaks Ground on $890M Electric Plant). Clean Energy Future has also committed to building a second billion-dollar plant at the same location (see Lordstown, OH May Get Second Utica Gas-Powered Electric Plant). According to local economic officials, the two plants, over the next 30 years, will contribute a staggering (incomprehensible!) $60 BILLION to the local economy. We simply don’t have words for this kind of econ benefit for a community like Lordstown and Trumbull County. So it’s understandable that the action of a neighbor in the same industrial park where the plants will get built–a neighbor that manufactures car seats for Chevrolets–is threatening to undo half of that economic benefit by filing to “intervene” in the project with the Ohio Siting Board, regarding the second proposed Utica Shale-powered electric plant. It seems Vienna Investments, which owns the car seat manufacturing plant, is concerned about unspecified “safety” issues with construction of the second plant. Local officials, and the editorial board of Youngstown Vindicator, are somewhat alarmed and “encouraging” (pressuring) Vienna to come clean now about what they’re really concerned about, so it can be addressed and not derail the second plant (and $30 billion worth of income for the region)…
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ODNR Approves Plans for 2 New Trumbull County Injection Wells

Some good news for Utica (and Marcellus) drillers: The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) has just approved permits for two new frack wastewater injection wells in Trumbull County, OH. Which doesn’t make the local anti-fracking nutters with FrackFree America happy. One of them calls the approvals “immoral.” She’s calling on the company building the wells, Highland Field Resources, to “abandon its plans.” (chuckle) The wells will be built in the town of Brookfield. ODNR has attached a myriad of conditions and required testing before the wells can go live. Here’s the immoral details…
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Radical Enviro Group Sues Warren Frack Wastewater Plant

The Fresh Water Accountability Project, an anti-fracking group based in Michigan, has filed a frivolous lawsuit against the Patriot Water Treatment facility and the City of Warren, OH, claiming they are processing frack chemicals at their plants that don’t get processed enough–and consequently get released into the Mahoning River. This is not Patriot Water’s first time in court. Patriot has had a long-running feud with the Ohio EPA and Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR)–a feud that goes all the way back to 2011 (see MDN’s string of Patriot Water stories here). Patriot processes frack wastewater at it’s Warren plant and then disposes of the wastewater by using the local Warren municipal sewage treatment plant. That is, Patriot strips out all of the really nasty stuff, and then the sewage plant finishes off the process and the water is then released into the Mahoning River, near Youngstown. The OH EPA and ODNR pulled Patriot’s permits to operate for a four-month period in 2012, but Patriot sued and won the right to continue operating, sending their wastewater to the sewage plant. Everything is legal. So now a non-profit group, Fresh Water Accountability Project, is going to try and shut down Patriot with a new lawsuit. If Fresh Water Accountability loses, can we shut them down? At the very least, their tax-exempt status should be stripped away for engaging in overtly political activities…
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81% of 2016 Ohio Valley Investment Came from One Natgas Project

Artist’s rendering of Lordstown Energy Center – click for larger version

We spotted a story that seemed to us like the Ohio Valley was doing some justified bragging about investment in the region during 2016. Recently, the “Youngstown/Warren, Ohio Economic Development 2016 Report Card” was released. The Report Card was a joint effort of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce, OhioMeans-Jobs, the cities of Warren and Youngstown, the Youngstown Business Incubator and Youngstown State University. The Report Card found that 111 projects led to a whopping investment of $1.1 billion–in 2016! Or at least you can say, that much money was committed in 2016. Some of the actual spending was made last year, some this year, likely some over the next several years. But hey, let’s not split hairs. This is an achievement to crow about. But when you look at the project list, one project accounts for 81% of the total–the Lordstown Energy Center. The $890 million Lordstown Energy Center is an electric generation plant planned for Lordstown (Trumbull County), OH that will be powered with Utica Shale gas. The project won village approval in the summer of 2015 (see Lordstown $800M Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets Village Approval). It then won state approval in the fall of 2015 (see Lordstown $800M Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets OH State Approval). The project broke ground in June 2016 (see Lordstown Energy Center Breaks Ground on $890M Electric Plant). Our point: Without deregulated electric markets in Ohio, and without the Utica and Marcellus Shale, the Ohio Valley investment last year would have been, at best, $220 million, not $1.1 billion…Continue reading

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Details on Newly Announced Trumbull Energy Center Electric Plant

Yesterday MDN ran an important story about 10 proposed (or already under construction) Utica Shale gas-powered electric plants planned for Ohio (see List of 10 Utica-Powered Electric Plant Projects Coming to Ohio). Tucked in the list of 10 projects is a brand new project, officially announced just yesterday, in Trumbull County. MDN readers already know about this project. Last June, Massachusetts-based Clean Energy Future broke ground on their $800 million, 940-megawatt Utica gas-fired electric plant in Lordstown (Trumbull County), OH (see Lordstown Energy Center Breaks Ground on $890M Electric Plant). Construction is under way and the plant will go online in 2018. In February of last year, MDN reported that the owner of the Lordstown Energy Center project, Clean Energy Future, was considering building a second plant at the same site (see Lordstown, OH May Get Second Utica Gas-Powered Electric Plant). The rumor was correct. In November, one of the companies partnering on the project, Fluor Corporation, spilled the beans and announced the second power plant, to be called the Trumbull Energy Center, would indeed get built. However, the project’s main sponsor, Clean Energy, has been mum on the project–until now. Yesterday afternoon the project was officially announced. We have the particulars on this new, second power plant that will be bigger than its older twin…
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OH Judge Orders ODNR to Allow Shuttered Injection Well to Reopen

American Water Management Services (AWMS) owns a wastewater injection well in Trumbull County that supposedly caused a low-level earthquake (that nobody could feel) in 2014. Two wells located at the site, both operated by AWMS, were “temporarily” shut down by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources following the quake (see ODNR Temporarily Shuts Down Injection Wells After Low-Level Quake). One of the two injection wells was allowed to re-open, but not the other (see ODNR Clears Trumbull Co. Injection Well in August Quake). However, AWMS can’t open just the one well. They need to open both and operate both. The ODNR is supposedly crafting new regulations that will govern the offending well that may or may not have caused the low-level quake and a year-and-a-half later the ODNR has not released those new regs. Meanwhile, everyone at that operation is out of a job. AWMS appealed the closure and in December 2015, a county judge threw out the appeal (see Judge Tosses Appeal to Re-Open Trumbull, OH Injection Well). So AWMS appealed it to the next level up–the 10th District Court of Appeals–in January 2016 (see AWMS Appeals Decision Upholding Trumbull Injection Well Closure). We’re not sure where the Appeals Court case sits, but a county judge has just ordered ODNR and AWMS to submit paperwork that will allow the well to reopen. Soon. The judge is telling the ODNR, no more foot-dragging. Get it done, now…
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Fluor & Clean Energy Partner to Build 2 OH NatGas Electric Plants

fluorIn June, Massachusetts-based Clean Energy Future broke ground on their $800 million, 940-megawatt Utica gas-fired electric plant in Lordstown (Trumbull County), OH (see Lordstown Energy Center Breaks Ground on $890M Electric Plant). Construction is going well and the plant will go online in 2018. Back in February of this year, MDN reported that the owner of the Lordstown Energy Center project, Clean Energy Future, was considering building a second plant at the same site (see Lordstown, OH May Get Second Utica Gas-Powered Electric Plant). Looks like the rumors were right! Last week Fluor Corporation, a global engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction and maintenance company that designs, builds and maintains big facilities like electric power plants, announced a deal with Clean Energy Future to build a new natgas-fired electric plant in Lordstown, as well as a second plant in Oregon (Lucas County), OH. The new Lordstown project is being called the Trumbull Energy Center and is due to be built and online in 2020. This is terrific news for the Utica/Marcellus industry. The Trumbull project will be another 940-megawatt plant, same as the Lordstown project under construction now, and the Oregon project will be a 955-megawatt project. Together these two new plants have the potential to use something like 185 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas per year–a staggering number…
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Lordstown Energy Center Breaks Ground on $890M Electric Plant

Artist's rendering of Lordstown Energy Center
Artist’s rendering of Lordstown Energy Center – click for larger version

You can build them big, or build them small. MDN brought you an update today on IMG Midstream’s very successful “tiny” natgas-fired electric plants, beginning to dot the Marcellus landscape in Pennsylvania (see today’s companion story). However, there are many large natgas-fired electric plants being planned or built as well. An $890 million electric generation plant planned for Lordstown (Trumbull County), OH that will be powered with Utica Shale gas won village approval last summer (see Lordstown $800M Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets Village Approval). The Lordstown Energy Center, as it’s called, then won state approval in the fall (see Lordstown $800M Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets OH State Approval). Yesterday was the official groundbreaking for the Lordstown plant…
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Lordstown, OH Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets New Owners

Two SGT6-8000H gas turbines will be installed in the Lordstown Energy Center.
Two SGT6-8000H gas turbines will be installed in the Lordstown Energy Center.

UPDATE: After posting this story, MDN received a tip from a subscriber with knowledge of the Lordstown project that our assumption that Clean Energy Future didn’t have the necessary funds to finish the project was incorrect. The plan from the beginning was to bring in other big-money partners. In fact, Siemens was a partner in the project from the start. Thank you to our great MDN audience for setting the record straight!

In April 2014, MDN told you about a proposal from Clean Energy Future to build an $800 million electric generation plant in Lordstown (Trumbull County), OH. The plant will be fired by natural gas from the Utica and Marcellus (see Clean Energy Plans NatGas Electric Generation Plant in Lordstown). In May, Lordstown Village Council gave their blessing for the project (see Lordstown $800M Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets Village Approval). And last September the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) gave its stamp of approval on the project (see Lordstown $800M Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets OH State Approval). The project, at that point, had all necessary approvals. It was/is “shovel ready.” The only thing left to do was to begin construction. Except…it appears the project didn’t have enough money to start. That’s now changed. Yesterday Macquarie Infrastructure Partners III and Siemens Financial Services announced they will build the new facility. Which means they now own the majority share of the project because they will ponying up the necessary money to build it. Which means there was an agreement to buy it from Clean Energy Future, although Clean Energy will “retain an interest” in the project. Here are the details, including what kind of turbines and generators will be used to power the Lordstown plant…
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Lordstown, OH May Get Second Utica Gas-Powered Electric Plant

An $800 million electric generation plant planned for Lordstown (Trumbull County), OH that will be powered with Utica Shale gas won village approval last summer (see Lordstown $800M Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets Village Approval). The Lordstown plant then won state approval in the fall (see Lordstown $800M Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets OH State Approval). Now comes word that the company planning to the build the plant–Massachusetts-based Clean Energy Future–is considering building a second plant at the same location. Here’s an update on the first plant, scheduled to break ground on April 1, and the rumors swirling about a second plant…
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AWMS Appeals Decision Upholding Trumbull Injection Well Closure

American Water Management Services (AWMS) owns a wastewater injection well in Trumbull County that supposedly caused a low-level earthquake (that nobody could feel) in 2014. Two wells located at the site, both operated by AWMS, were “temporarily” shut down by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources following the quake (see ODNR Temporarily Shuts Down Injection Wells After Low-Level Quake). One of the two injection wells was allowed to re-open, but not the other (see ODNR Clears Trumbull Co. Injection Well in August Quake). However, AWMS can’t open just the one well. They need to open both and operate both. The ODNR is supposedly crafting new regulations that will govern the offending well that may or may not have caused the low-level quake and a year-and-a-half later the ODNR has not released those new regs. Meanwhile, everyone at that operation is out of a job. AWMS appealed the closure and last month a county judge threw out the appeal (see Judge Tosses Appeal to Re-Open Trumbull, OH Injection Well). So AWMS has appealed it to the next level up–the 10th District Court of Appeals…
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OH ‘National Day of Action’ Against Fracking a Huge Flop

Looks like Tuesday’s so-called National Day of Action against fracking was an even bigger bust than we thought it would be (see Here Comes Another “National Day of Action” Against Fracking). In Painesville (Lake County), OH we spot three protesters who put on a skit (creative folks, those radical environmentalist). In Weathersfield Township (Trumbull County), OH we spot five protesters. It was Athens County, OH however where the biggest concentration of nutters was to be found. Upward of 40 protesters gathered near a fracking site in the Torch/Coolville area. The Willis Family reunion had more people in attendance this past summer–but we didn’t spot any news cameras around to record the event. Perhaps if we had held anti-fracking signs we would have been featured on the evening news?…
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OH Commission Sides with ODNR Boss to Keep Injection Well Closed

yes manUPDATE: This is slightly old news–from August. The article we quoted from was run yesterday, but the events actually happened in August. We understand that the case has now been appealed to Common Pleas Court.

The Ohio Oil and Gas Commission, the five-member advisory council that’s part of the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) set up to hear appeals from any person claiming to be aggrieved or adversely affected by an order issued by the ODNR’s oil & gas division, upheld a decision by the ODNR to suspend operations at a Trumbull County injection well. The injection well is owned by American Water Management Services and following low-level earthquake a year ago, the ODNR’s Rick Simmers shut two injection wells down (see ODNR Temporarily Shuts Down Injection Wells After Low-Level Quake). Since that time, the ODNR allowed one of the two to reopen, but not the other (see ODNR Clears Trumbull Co. Injection Well in August Quake). The ODNR continues to “investigate” (i.e. drag its feet) so finally AWMS got tired and appealed the decision to the body that hears such appeals. Although supposedly independent, the Oil and Gas Commission works for the ODNR, so it’s no surprise they supported the ODNR in their decision to keep the second well closed…
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Lordstown $800M Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets OH State Approval

stamp of approvalIn April 2014, MDN told you about a proposal from Clean Energy Future to build an $800 million electric generation plant in Lordstown (Trumbull County), OH. The plant will be fired by natural gas from the Utica and Marcellus (see Clean Energy Plans NatGas Electric Generation Plant in Lordstown). In May, Lordstown Village Council gave their blessing for the project (see Lordstown $800M Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets Village Approval). Last week, the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) gave its stamp of approval on the project and, as far as we can tell, nothing else remains before the backhoes begin to work. Clean Energy Future plans to begin work this year and have the new electric plant operational by May 2018…
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OH Minority Report: Shut Down Wells Before They Cause Earthquakes

Minority ReportThe Chief of the Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management for the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (currently Rick Simmers) is a man with a lot of power. He has the power, according to a ruling just handed down on August 12, to make his own decisions about suspending permits to operate in the absence of specific violations of a law or regulation. In September 2014 Simmers suspended permits for two wastewater injection wells in Trumbull County, OH after a very low level earthquake was detected close to those wells (an earthquake that couldn’t be felt at the surface and caused no damage of any kind). American Water Management Services sued saying they hadn’t violated any laws or regulations on the books and their permits could not just be arbitrarily revoked like that. But the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission said nope–Tom Cruise, er, a, Mr. Simmers can arbitrarily do what he wants when there is no specific rule or guideline or law–because he has the best interests of the people at heart…
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OH Injection Well Operator has Until Today to File Remediation Plan

We’ve been following the story of water contamination in close proximity to five injection wells owned by Kleese Development Associates (KDA) of Warren, OH. The wells were shut down when water contamination was found in a local wetland (swamp) and a nearby pond. But after investigating, the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) found that the injection wells were not the source of chemical contamination, but rather a salvage yard was at fault (see Trumbull Injection Wells NOT the Source of Wetland Contamination). The salvage yard is also owned by KDA, so the company is certainly not off the hook. The last word we had was that the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) along with the Ohio Attorney General’s office executed search warrants for KDA looking for evidence of “environmental crimes” (see Youngstown Injection Wells Previously Shut Down Resume Operation). Meanwhile, the injection wells were reportedly restarted after correcting an issue found by the ODNR when they were there investigating. The new news is that Ohio EPA (not the feds, but Ohio) says KDA has until today to file a remediation plan to clean up a local creek affected by the so-far still undetermined source of a chemical spill coming from the salvage yard…
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