Vistra originally announced the $3.4 billion purchase last March. It includes a 4,000 MW nuclear generation fleet and retail business of nearly 1 million customers.

Vistra will now operate the second-largest non-regulated nuclear fleet in the country, with four plants totaling more than 6,400 MW across ERCOT and PJM. Three of those plants – Beaver Valley, Davis-Besse and Perry – would come from the Energy Harbor transaction.

FERC’s approval, which was received Feb. 16, was the last regulatory approval needed for the companies to close the transaction.

Vistra anticipates closing in the coming weeks.

Pleasants is a 1300 MW two-unit coal-fired power plant located on the Ohio River in Pleasants County, West Virginia. The plant, which some top state leaders had pushed to stay open, shut down June 1.

Until late 2022, it had been owned by Energy Harbor, which transferred the plant to Houston-based Energy Transition and Environmental Management (ETEM) for the purpose of demolition.

Omnis is in negotiations to buy Pleasants Power Station from ETEM. Omnis co-owner Simon Hodson told E&E News his company has signed a letter of intent to buy the plant, has secured financing for the purchase and could take control by August 1.

The hydrogen used to power the plant would be a byproduct from Omnis’s graphite production operations, according to a filing with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia on May 24.

Hodson told E&E News that Omnis has developed a form of pyrolysis, where a hydrocarbon is heated at extremely high temperatures to make synthetic graphite.

In May we reported that Two FirstEnergy subsidiaries, Monongahela Power Co. and Potomac Edison Co., had sought to enter into a letter of intent with the operator of Pleasants to run it from May until June 2024 while exploring a longer-term solution. The companies were seeking a surcharge for all customers to keep the plant open.

This was at the encouragement of state lawmakers. During the 2023 West Virginia legislative session, both the state’s Senate and House passed resolutions strongly encouraging Mon Power to continue its feasibility study and to purchase Pleasants.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison said they would continue to negotiate with ETEM in case the Omnis deal didn’t work out.

As for Omnis’ proposal, some analysts are skeptical.

“This is a company that as far as we know has never run a coal plant, and they face the additional challenges of converting it in a way that appears unprecedented and untested,” Seth Feaster, an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis told E&E News.

Vistra has reached an agreement to acquire Energy Harbor in a $3.43 billion deal, including debt.

When the transaction closes, Energy Harbor’s nuclear and retail businesses would merge under a new Vistra subsidiary the company is calling “Vistra Vision.”

Both companies’ boards of directors gave approval.

Vistra said it has been looking to expand its nuclear power generation capacity, and the deal would help the Texas-based energy company add about 4,000 MW of nuclear capacity.

Vistra would operate the second-largest non-regulated nuclear fleet in the country, with four plants totaling more than 6,400 MW across ERCOT and PJM. Three of those plants – Beaver Valley, Davis-Besse and Perry – would come from the Energy Harbor transaction.

“There are few opportunities to grow a reliable and dispatchable zero-carbon generation portfolio at scale this quickly,” said Vistra President and CEO Jim Burke.

He added that with the enactment of the zero-emission nuclear production tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act, nuclear would more competitive against lower power prices, resulting in “tremendous upside opportunity compared to other generation with similar attributes.”

Total compensation would consist of $3 billion cash and Energy Harbor shareholders getting a 15% equity interest in Vistra Vision. Most Energy Harbor shareholders would receive cash at closing and the two largest shareholders, Avenue Capital Group and Nuveen, would receive a combination of cash and the 15% ownership interest.

Additionally, Vistra Vision would assume approximately $430 million of net debt from Energy Harbor in the transaction. Vistra would continue to own 85% of Vistra Vision and 100% of Vistra Tradition, the company’s gas and coal generation fleet.

Vistra said it intends to finance the majority of the $3 billion of cash consideration through debt financing at Vistra Operations, with all or a portion of the debt expected to be invested in Vistra Vision with an inter-company loan.

Vistra is not acquiring Energy Harbor’s conventional generation assets, which are expected to be sold to third parties.

A year ago, Energy Harbor said it planned exit its fossil generation business through a sale or deactivation of its W.H. Sammis Power Station in Stratton, Ohio, and its Pleasants Power Station in Willow Island, West Virginia.

At the time, Energy Harbor filed deactivation notices with PJM Interconnection for the following generating units:

• W.H. Sammis Diesel Units SAA, B1-B4, Stratton, Ohio (12.5 MW, diesel oil)
• W.H. Sammis Units 5-7, Stratton, Ohio (1,694 MW, coal)
• Pleasants Power Station Units 1 and 2, Willow Island, West Virginia (1,368 MW, coal)

These plants represented 3,074 MW of generating capacity.

In late February, Vistra said it cleared more than 6,900 MW generating capacity in the PJM capacity auction for 2024/2025 planning year. It received a weighted average clearing price of $43.25 per megawatt-day, equating to around $109 million in capacity revenue. 

The plant’s owner, Energy Harbor, notified state labor officials that layoffs are slated to take place in March and April, and that the plant would close in July. Around 140 jobs are affected.

Last May, Energy Harbor said it planned to deactivate or sell the remaining units of the power plant along the Ohio River five years earlier than previously expected.

The Akron-based company said the move was part of its plan to become a carbon-free energy generator by the end of 2023. Energy Harbor also said it would sell or close its other coal plant, Pleasants Power Station in West Virginia, by the same deadline.

Energy Harbor filed deactivation notices last spring with PJM Interconnection for the following generating units:

• W.H. Sammis Diesel Units SAA, B1-B4, Stratton, Ohio (12.5 MW, diesel oil)
• W.H. Sammis Units 5-7, Stratton, Ohio (1,694 MW, coal)
• Pleasants Power Station Units 1 and 2, Willow Island, West Virginia (1,368 MW, coal)

Energy Harbor has said that the baseload power generated by its nuclear units is “critical infrastructure” required for the clean energy transition. 

Among the job losses at Sammis are 22 maintenance mechanics, 18 control room operators, and 19 yard operators.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is partnering with utilities on four hydrogen demonstration projects at U.S. nuclear power plants.

Hydrogen would be produced at the nuclear plants through high- or low-temperature electrolysis, a process of splitting water into pure hydrogen and oxygen. High-temperature electrolyzers use both heat and electricity to split water and are more efficient.

Many believe nuclear is a tool to produce clean hydrogen, which is seen as an important path to drive decarbonization – including in hard-to-abate sectors. In power generation, hydrogen is one of the leading options for storing renewable energy and can be used in gas turbines to increase power system flexibility.

Listed below are the four nuclear plants expected to ramp up hydrogen production. Please click the links to read any of our previous reporting.

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Power Station (Oswego, NY) 

DOE is supporting the construction and installation of a low-temperature electrolysis system at the Nine Mile Point station in Oswego, New York. Nine Mile Point would be the first nuclear-powered clean hydrogen production facility in the U.S. and would also use the hydrogen to help cool the plant.

Constellation plans to begin producing hydrogen there before the end of 2022.

The utility also partnered with NYSERDA on a separate project to power a fuel cell at the facility and will start providing additional power to the grid in 2025. 

Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station (Oak Harbor, OH)

Energy Harbor is working to demonstrate a low-temperature electrolysis system at the Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station. The single unit reactor is expected to produce clean hydrogen by 2023.

Energy Harbor is part of a larger group called the Great Lakes Clean Hydrogen (GLCH) coalition. GLCH aims to develop a Midwestern regional hydrogen hub and is applying for DOE funding

Hydrogen produced at Davis-Besse could support local manufacturing and transportation services, including fuel for a local bus fleet.

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant (Red Wing, MN)

Xcel Energy is working on a demonstration project coupling Bloom Energy’s high-temperature electrolysis with the Prairie Island nuclear plant in Red Wing, Minnesota.

Engineering for the Xcel-Bloom 240 KW demonstration is currently underway, with construction expected to begin in late 2023 and power-on expected in early 2024.

Palo Verde Generating Station (Tonopah, AZ)

Finally, DOE is negotiating an award with Arizona Public Service (APS) and PNW Hydrogen to demonstrate another low-temperature electrolysis system at the Palo Verde Generating Station in Tonopah, Arizona.

The hydrogen would be used to produce electricity during times of high demand or to make chemicals and other fuels. The project could start producing hydrogen in 2024.

According to the DOE, a single 1,000 MW nuclear reactor could produce more than 150,000 metric tons of hydrogen each year. Ten nuclear reactors could provide about 1.5 million metric tons annually or 15% of current hydrogen produced in the United States, the DOE said. 

On the day of the deadline for applicants to submit concept papers, a group known as the Great Lakes Clean Hydrogen Partnership (GLCH) officially announced it would apply for funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub program.

The coalition includes Linde, Energy Harbor, GE Aerospace, Cleveland-Cliffs and the University of Toledo.

The $8 billion hydrogen hub program was born out of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) passed in 2021. DOE plans to fund six to ten regional hubs, which would need to demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage and end use of clean hydrogen.

GLCH will use nuclear power generated by Energy Harbor’s Davis-Besse Power Station to produce carbon-free hydrogen through electrolysis.

In October 2021, Energy Harbor and DOE agreed to develop a hydrogen production demonstration project at Davis-Besse in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Xcel Energy, and Arizona Public Service. The plant was chosen due to its proximity to key hydrogen consumers in the manufacturing and transportation sectors of the market.

Many believe nuclear has the potential to produce hydrogen in a clean and reliable way. Hydrogen is seen as an important path to drive decarbonization – including in hard-to-abate sectors. In power generation, hydrogen is one of the leading options for storing renewable energy, and hydrogen can be used in gas turbines to increase power system flexibility.

The GLCH hub would primarily serve the Ohio and Michigan region. The coalition said the Midwest is “the ideal location” for a clean hydrogen hub, due to its unique access to ample nuclear power and proximity to major highways, manufacturing and technology companies, Great Lakes marine shipping fleet and a highly skilled workforce.

Earlier this month a coalition of some of the largest utilities in the U.S. announced it would pursue a clean hydrogen hub in the Southeast and apply for program funding.

That coalition includes Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Louisville Gas & Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company (LG&E and KU), Southern Company, and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), along with Battelle and others.

Energy Harbor is partnering with the University of Toledo, major industrial companies and several U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories among others to form the Great Lakes Clean Hydrogen (GLCH) coalition. The goal is to transition the Midwest into a leading low-carbon fuel production center.

The coalition will use nuclear power generated by Energy Harbor’s Davis-Besse Power Station to produce carbon-free hydrogen through electrolysis.

In October 2021, Energy Harbor and DOE agreed to develop a hydrogen production demonstration project at Davis-Besse in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Xcel Energy, and Arizona Public Service. The plant was chosen due to its proximity to key hydrogen consumers in the manufacturing and transportation sectors of the market.

Many believe nuclear has the potential to produce hydrogen in a clean and reliable way. Hydrogen is seen as an important path to drive decarbonization – including in hard-to-abate sectors. In power generation, hydrogen is one of the leading options for storing renewable energy, and hydrogen can be used in gas turbines to increase power system flexibility.

More than 40 organizations representing industry, government, nonprofit and academia formed the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI) to advance nuclear hydrogen. NHI would also facilitate the development of nuclear hydrogen demonstrations, engage investors and advocate for policies that support nuclear hydrogen deployment.

Advocates have said hydrogen produced from nuclear could help build an economic case to keep the nation’s at-risk reactors up and running.

Davis-Besse is a single-unit nuclear plant located in Oak Harbor, Ohio, and is situated on Lake Erie. The approximately 900 MW contains a pressurized water reactor supplied by Babcock & Wilcox.

The Frontier Group of Companies (FGC), a Buffalo, New York-based real estate and redevelopment company, has acquired two retired Energy Harbor coal-fired power plants.

FGC said it plans to decommission the Bruce Mansfield Power Plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, and the Ashtabula Power Station in Ashtabula, Ohio. The company would remediate environmental issues at each site.

Terms of the deal with Energy Harbor were not disclosed.

FGC said that in the coming months it will conduct land use studies, market analyses, and meet with community leaders to determine the best use for the plant sites.

Both former coal-fueled power plants are prospective sites for a variety of economic development purposes, according to FGC Business Development Director Pat Ford. He said this included petrochemical, steel, energy, digital currency, and transportation logistics-related companies.

The 2,490 MW vBruce Mansfield Power Plant was operated by FirstEnergy and for many years was the largest coal plant in Pennsylvania. The former power plant is 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and situated along the Ohio River.

Bruce Mansfield Unit 1 was completed in 1976 and generated 830 MW. Unit 2 came online a year later and generated 830 MW. The station’s 800 MW Unit 3 came online in 1980.

The Ashtabula Power Station site was also operated by FirstEnergy. The 256 MW former power station is midway between Cleveland and Buffalo along I-90.

Ashtabula dates back to 1930 and the last unit to retire became operational in 1958. The plant was retired in 2015.

Standard Power plans to build a large data center adjacent to Energy Harbor’s Beaver Valley nuclear facility in Shippingport, Pennsylvania.

Under a 10-year agreement, Standard Power would purchase between 200 and 300 MW of electricity and be directly connected to the Beaver Valley plant.

Phase 1 of development is expected to come online in 2023 and 2024. Development could scale up to 900 MW in subsequent phases.

“This effort is an important step in the transformation of the regions around our nuclear plants into clean energy centers (CECs) that will be the necessary 24/7 carbon free, infrastructure backbone of the U.S. economy,” said David Hamilton, Energy Harbor’s Chief Nuclear Officer, David Hamilton.

This isn’t the first agreement between the partners. In July 2021, Energy Harbor agreed to a five-year deal to power Standard Power’s Bitcoin blockchain mining center in Coshocton, Ohio using its nuclear fleet.

Beaver Valley’s two Westinghouse pressurized water reactors have a total capacity of 1,872 MW. Unit 1 came online in 1976 and Unit 2 came online in 1987. The plant was expected to be closed in 2021 but Energy Harbor rescinded the deactivation notice in 2020.