COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio-based energy company said Wednesday it is closing its last coal-fired power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania, a move decried by the coal industry and called inevitable by environmentalists.
FirstEnergy Solutions said it plans to shut down its remaining four coal plants by 2022. The three Ohio plants are on the Ohio River in Stratton. Its last Pennsylvania coal plant is in Shippingport. The plants employ a combined 550 people.
The company said it can’t compete in the regional wholesale markets that are managed by grid manager PJM Interconnection.
