Morgantown To Be Home To $1 Billion Power Plant

A $1 billion coal-fired power plant now has the green light to be constructed near Morgantown, W.Va. The state Public Service Commission has granted Longview Power a siting certificate for the plant and authorizing the construction of a transmission line to serve the plant. Longview has said the 600-megawatt plant will create up to 1,600 construction jobs and have about 60 permanent employees. The plant is expected to use more than 2 million tons of coal a year. When completed, the plant will be the first new coal-fired plant in West Virginia since the 66-megawatt Beechurst Avenue power plant in downtown Morgantown went online in 1992. It also will be the first big coal-fired plant since Appalachian Power’s 1,300-megawatt Mountaineer Plant in Mason County went online in 1980. Longview is a subsidiary of Needham, Mass.-based GenPower LLC.

Catalog Call Center Could Bring 400 Jobs To Region

As many as 400 jobs could be headed to Berkeley County in the coming months. BlueSky Brands Inc., is set to sign an agreement to lease space in the Shockey Commerce Center. The facility will be used as a fulfillment and in-bound telephone call center. BlueSky operates three catalogs: Bits and Pieces, Bits and Pieces UK and The Paragon.

West Virginia Receives Major NSF Research Grant

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a $8,999,903 NSF grant award to the West Virginia Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (WV EPSCoR) to fund higher education research at three West Virginia universities.

The state of West Virginia will match this grant with an additional $4.5 million bringing the total funds available to $13.5 million. The $9 million award represents the largest science and technology research grant ever awarded to West Virginia by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and brings the total amount of federal funding WV EPSCoR has secured during the past four years to nearly $20 million. This grant will provide support for new research in molecular recognition and engineering over the next three years at West Virginia University and Marshall University. It also will support efforts with West Virginia State University in an expanded collaboration among the three state universities.

As a result of this NSF award, new faculty at WVU and Marshall University will be recruited. Also, undergraduate and graduate students, research associates, and specialized technical support staff will be hired to complete focused research teams. Women and underrepresented minority students and faculty will be supported in their scientific investigations leading to advanced careers in research.

Cabela's To Expand Distribution Center

Outdoor outfitter Cabela's plans another major expansion at its East Coast distribution center in Ohio County, W.Va. With Cabela’s second distribution center set to open in July, the company is planning another expansion of its facilities at The Highlands, a business park along Interstate 70 near Wheeling. The distribution center expansion project could be open by 2008 and bring another 200-250 jobs to the county. The 550,000-square-foot addition will bring the total distribution facilities at The Highlands to about 1.7 million square feet with current employment at about 800. Cabela’s also has a 175,000-square-foot store next to its distribution center.