To accomplish the public policies and purposes and to meet the responsibility of the state as set forth in this article, the West Virginia public energy authority may initiate, acquire, construct, maintain, lease, lease with an option for the lessee to purchase, sell, by installment sale or otherwise, or otherwise dispose of, repair and operate electric power generating projects and transmission facilities, and may issue bonds for the purpose of financing the cost of acquisition and construction of electric power projects and transmission facilities which will be sold, leased, leased with an option by the lessee to purchase or otherwise disposed of to person other than governmental agencies or for the purpose of loaning the proceeds thereof to persons other than governmental agencies for the acquisition and construction of said projects or both; or if the electric power project is to be owned by a governmental agency request the issuance of bonds by the economic development authority, payable solely from revenues, to pay the cost or finance in whole or in part such projects: Provided, That the economic development authority shall not be authorized to issue any such bonds except by an act of general law, as provided in article fifteen, chapter thirty-one of this code. An electric power project shall not be undertaken unless it has been determined by the authority that the project will be consistent with the purposes set out in this article. Any resolution providing for acquiring or constructing such projects shall include a finding by the authority that such determinations have been made.
The authority is authorized and directed:
(1) To cooperate with the appropriate agencies and officials of the United States government to the end that any electric power project shall be so planned and constructed as to be adaptable to the plans of the United States.