Indiana County, PA (WJAC) — Officials say the largest coal-fired power plant in Pennsylvania plans to shut down later this year.
6 News spoke to authorities about the potential effects this could have.
Authorities say the Homer City generating station plans to wind down its operation and be closed by June.
Authorities say one effect is replacing the over 1900 megawatts the power plant provides to the power grid, as well as leaving all employees at the plant without a job.
Officials say both of these issues could possibly be aided by the addition of other resources, such as solar power, which would also require some workers.
The Homer City borough manager says the power plant closing won't just affect the town, but the whole county.
“There's been several industries that have shut down. Indiana County seems to be able to rebound somewhat. At this stage, I’m not sure if we can take another hit. I'm hoping we can. Only time is going to tell. But, at this point I’m not going to panic, but we're close to panicking. This is catastrophic, and it could be catastrophic to our area.”
Authorities say the next three largest coal-fired plants in Pennsylvania also plan to close by 2028.
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