MORGANTOWN – Sen. Shelley Moore Capito was in Monongalia County Friday to see the upgrades at the Longview Power Plant.
Following $120 million in repairs, Longview Power Plant is now the cleanest coal-fired plant in the nation, but it still doesn't meet the standards proposed in the Clean Power Plan.
Capito said updating coal-fired power plants could be a key to revitalizing the industry in West Virginia.
“The fact of the matter is, if we can operate cleaner, if we can operate more efficiently and be near the resource, we should be doing that," Capito said. "That’s what I think this Longview plant really offers and does, and it’s the face of coal of the future.”
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court voted to stay the Clean Power Plan.
Capito said that gives coal some “breathing room” for the near future.