FirstEnergy closed an ash landfill for the former R. Paul Smith coal power plant in Berkeley County, West Virginia. The company said it plans to develop a utility-scale solar facility nearby.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection recently allowed Allegheny Energy Supply Company (a FirstEnergy subsidiary) to end environmental monitoring at the landfill. The ash there had been used in cement manufacturing for the last 20 years.
The effort to close the landfill began in 2015. Initial activities included removing infrastructure such as piping and engineered liner while decommissioning two dams on the property.
