Charah Solutions acquires Texas power plant, announces decommissioning

Louisville, Kentucky-based Charah Solutions Inc., a leading provider of environmental services and byproduct sales to the power generation industry, has announced that it completed its acquisition of the Texas Municipal Power Agency’s (TMPA) Gibbons Creek Steam Electric Station and Reservoir in Grimes County, Texas, and will begin remediation and redevelopment of the property.

TMPA, which was created to supply electricity on a wholesale basis to its member cities of Bryan, Denton, Garland and Greenville, operated Gibbons Creek from its construction in 1982 until 2018.

The transaction was approved by the TMPA board and four member cities in a series of board meetings and city council meetings held throughout January.

As part of this agreement, Charah, through its subsidiary Gibbons Creek Environmental Redevelopment Group LLC (GCERG), now owns the 6,166 acre area which includes the closed power station and adjacent property, the 3,500 acre reservoir, dam and spillway. GCERG will be responsible for the shutdown and decommissioning of the coal power plant as well as performing all environmental remediation work for the site landfills and ash ponds.

GCERG says the company plans to redevelop the property in an environmentally conscious manner that will expand economic activity and benefit the surrounding communities through job creation, promotion of industry, support of the tax base, as well as restoring the property to a state that will enable it to be put to its best potential use.

The existing power plant will be demolished, and potential redevelopment uses for the property include solar, battery, and energy storage options which utilize the existing transmission system, maximization of the reservoir’s potential, re-use of the vast rail system and other industrial uses.

GCERG will also work with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to complete all environmental remediation required for the property and then plans to redevelop the remediated property within all zoning restrictions. The redevelopment of the property is expected to be completed within 36 months.

“GCERG has been working with TMPA for many months on this purchase, and they have investigated many possibilities for the property’s future to maximize the value of the assets and improve the environment as well as contribute to the surrounding communities and the local economy,” said Bob Kahn, general manager for TMPA. “We are pleased to work with Charah Solutions to reduce the environmental risk and costs for TMPA and its member cities and ratepayers while redeveloping the plant and property to expand economic activity and support the tax base, including the Grimes County Schools.”