June 11, 2022 | Article Originally Published: weirtondailytimes.com
The Frontier Group of Companies, a leading North American real estate and brownfield redevelopment company, has acquired two retired Energy Harbor coal-fired power plants, one in Shippingport and the second in Ashtabula.
As the new owner of the properties, FGC plans to decommission the plants and remediate any environmental concerns at each site. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
While working with Energy Harbor over the past six months, our excitement has grown regarding the repurposing opportunities we foresee for these sites,” David Franjoine, CEO, Frontier Group of Companies, said. Clearing and cleaning these sites and putting the properties back into their respective real estate markets will sustain the economic renaissance of these regions for years to come.”
During the coming months, Frontier will be conducting land use studies, market analyses and meetings with community leaders to determine the highest and best use for these locations on the Ohio River and Lake Erie.
The larger site, Shippingport’s Bruce Mansfield Power Plant, was operated by FirstEnergy and was for many years the largest coal plant in Pennsylvania. The site is 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and 17 miles from Pittsburgh International Airport. The 2,490-megawatt former power plant is situated on 660 acres along the Ohio River and is served by CSX Railroad.
Since closing what was once Pennsylvania’s largest coal-fired electric generation facility, we’ve been diligently working to find the right purchaser who could redevelop the land in a way that maximizes the economic impact for the residents of Shippingport and all of Beaver County,” said Jay Bellingham of Energy Harbor.
The Ashtabula Power Station site, which ceased operations in 2012, is flanked by Cleveland and Buffalo on Interstate 90. The 256-megawatt former power station is situated on 137 acres on Lake Erie and is also served by CSX Railroad.
Both former coal-fueled power plants are excellent prospective sites for a variety of economic development purposes including petro-chemical, steel, energy, digital currency and transportation logistics-related companies according to Pat Ford, business development director for Frontier.
We consider these former power plants to be a tremendous opportunity for new development and an opportunity to bring back jobs that were lost,” Ford said. Our plan to repurpose and ready these strategically-located mega-sites is the first step toward returning these properties to economically productive uses.”
