Guaranteed income After helping to obtain the license for the factory, Mr. Manchin began to profit from it. On Oct. 5, 1989, one of Mr....
Guaranteed income
After helping to obtain the license for the factory, Mr. Manchin began to profit from it.
On Oct. 5, 1989, one of Mr. Manchin’s companies, Transcon Inc., bought a former coal mine in Barrackville, five miles south of Grant Town, for $380,000, courthouse records show. of Marion County. That same day, he sold the property and its piles of gobs to AmBit for $500,000, making a profit of $120,000.
But Mr. Manchin was not just a fuel supplier for the Grant Town plant. He also got a share of his earnings.
Shortly before the plant opened, he signed another deal with AmBit, involving another former coal mine owned by Mr. Manchin, this one south of Farmington, Mr. Manchin’s hometown. He leased this mine, along with the parison on this property, to AmBit. In return, AmBit agreed to pay not only the rent to Mr. Manchin, but also 1% of the gross revenue from the electricity generated by burning the parison from Mr. Manchin’s former coal mine, according to a copy of the lease at the courthouse.
Those terms, while not unprecedented, were generous to Mr. Manchin, said Stefanie Hines, an attorney who teaches at West Virginia University and specializes in mining rights. “These are not offers that you give to everyone,” Ms Hines said.
Once the Grant Town plant opened, Mr. Manchin urged his fellow state lawmakers to support a tax credit for power plants that burn gob, according to an account at the time in the Charleston Gazette. It happened the following year.
Only three plants in the entire state burned parison; Grant Town was one of them. At the time, Mr Manchin dismissed personal trade suggestions, noting he had not broken any rules.
As the Grant Town factory continued to buy Mr. Manchin’s parison, his political ambitions grew. He was elected secretary of state in 2000. Four years later, Mr. Manchin caused a landslide in the governor’s mansion in Charleston. From this position, he helped the powerhouse win an even more coveted award.
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