Calpine is a business unit of Constellation Energy, which earlier this month completed its acquisition of the natural gas and geothernmal developer from Energy Capital Partners, creating one of the largest power generation portfolios in the U.S at 55 GW.

Public records show that the Moundsville facility was initially proposed and permitted in 2014 under a different developer but never advanced to construction. The approval remained inactive for more than a decade, a time when power-market conditions in PJM did not support widespread development of merchant combined-cycle plants. State and local officials now see Calpine’s move as a revival driven by stronger market signals and increasing demand for dispatchable generation.

A draft Permit to Construct issued by the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection authorizes the project as a 549-MW nominal combined-cycle natural gas facility. 

The permit identifies two large-frame combustion turbines paired with heat-recovery steam generators and a steam turbine, specifying GE Frame 7FA-class units equipped with selective catalytic reduction, dry low-NOx burners and oxidation catalysts as primary emissions controls. Classified as a Prevention of Significant Deterioration major source, the facility must meet the Clean Air Act’s highest preconstruction standards and secure a Title V operating permit within a year of startup.

Fuel under the permit is limited to pipeline-quality natural gas, with ethane blending capped at 25%. Annual emissions limits are set for nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and greenhouse gases.

Local officials said the plant’s location—part of the former Hanlin-Allied-Olin industrial site along the Ohio River north of Moundsville and 11 miles north of Wheeling—has been under consideration as a power generation site for years. 

Marshall County Commission President Scott Varner told local media that the county commission and the Marshall County Board of Education approved lease and payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreements in December, clearing the way for Calpine to complete site due diligence and advance development.

Calpine executives said the revived proposal reflects improved economics and rising regional demand. In a state release, Suriyun Sukduang, the company’s vice president of origination, said Calpine’s experience building and operating gas-fired facilities in PJM positions it to move the project forward while delivering construction jobs, tax revenue and broader community benefits.

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Why Long-Permitted PJM Projects Are Re-Emerging

Across PJM Interconnection’s footprint, spanning the MidAtlantic and parts of the Midwest, the reactivation of gas-fired projects permitted in the mid-2010s reflects a shift in planning assumptions rather than a short-term market swing.

In its 2025 Long-Term Load Forecast Report, PJM said it revised demand projections to account for “large, unanticipated load changes,” including growth in data-center load across multiple transmission zones. The updated forecast projects summer peak load growth averaging about 3.1% annually during the next decade, with net energy growth averaging roughly 4.8% annually—well above the assumptions embedded in planning models a decade ago.

Because PJM’s resource-adequacy and transmission-planning processes are anchored to long-range load forecasts, higher projected peaks and energy consumption increase the system’s modeled need for dispatchable capacity over time. 

In that context, projects that have already cleared environmental permitting but stalled under flatter demand expectations can re-enter development with a different risk profile, particularly as permitting timelines have become a binding constraint for new entrants.

The result is a planning environment in which previously shelved, fully permitted combined-cycle projects carry an advantage: regulatory risk has largely been addressed, interconnection pathways are better defined and capacity value improves as forecasts rise. 

PJM’s latest load outlook does not predict shortages, but it underscores how faster-than-expected demand growth is reshaping long-term resource planning and prompting a reassessment of dormant projects as potential contributors to future reliability.

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What Comes Next

Although the investment scale and capacity have been confirmed, Calpine has not disclosed a construction schedule, delivery method or contracting team. Company officials have not indicated whether the plant will be delivered under a single EPC contract or multiple packages, nor announced a target commercial operation date. 

ENR requested clarification from Constellation and, in an email response, a spokesperson said the project is still in the early stages of development. "We’re engaged in ongoing discussions with multiple parties and look forward to sharing more details as the project moves forward," Linsey Wisniewski, senior manager of external communications at Constellation, wrote.

The Moundsville project is one of several large-scale generation proposals advanced since Morrisey announced his “50 by 50” strategy last fall, which aims to increase West Virginia’s power generation capacity to 50 GW by 2050. State officials have said additional gas-fired projects proposed across northern and central West Virginia could add more than 2 GW of new capacity if built.

For now, Calpine’s next steps include finalizing site development, interconnection arrangements and construction planning, with additional details expected as the project advances.