Regulators urge dismissal of PATH line
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - Virginia regulators are recommending the dismissal of an application to build a $2 billion power line from West Virginia to Maryland.
A hearing examiner with the State Corporation Commission said that regulators should approve a motion to withdraw filed by American Electric Power and FirstEnergy Corp.
The utilities suspended the plan to build the 765-kilowatt line in February because PJM Interconnection, the group that oversees the electric grid for a 13-state region, forecasts weaker-than-expected demand for electricity in mid-Atlantic states and directed the companies to halt the project.
The 275-mile Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline PATH was to run from AEP's John Amos power station in Putnam County, West Virginia, 31 miles across three counties in northern Virginia, to a substation near Kemptown, Maryland. It was originally envisioned to meet expectations of growing demand for electricity in the region. Officials predicted that if the line wasn't built, the region would suffer from brownouts and blackouts.
The SCC must still issue a final order. West Virginia and Maryland regulators have already granted withdrawal requests.
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Coronavirus impacts dismantling of Germany's Philippsburg nuclear plant
BERLIN - German energy company EnBW said the coronavirus outbreak has impacted plans to dismantle its Philippsburg nuclear power plant in Baden-Wurttemberg, southwest Germany.
The controlled detonation of Phillipsburg's cooling towers will now take place in mid-May at the earliest.
However, EnBW said the exact demolition date depends on many factors - including the further development in the coronavirus pandemic.
Philippsburg 2, a 1402MWe pressurised water reactor unit permanently shut down on 31 December 2019.
At the end of 2019, the Ministry of the Environment gave basic approval for decommissioning and dismantling of unit 2 of the Philippsburg nuclear power plant, inluding explosive demolition…
