Mon Power and Potomac Edison, subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp., began construction on their third utility-scale solar site in West Virginia and expect to complete the project in 2025. Called the Marlowe solar project, it is located on a redeveloped 36-acre site in Berkeley County along Interstate 81 and the Potomac River at the former ash disposal site of the R. Paul Smith Power Station. The facility will produce up to 5.75 megawatts (MW) of solar energy; one MW powers an average of 173 homes.
The Marlowe project is one of five solar projects the companies are developing that will produce a total of 50 MW of solar power. These five projects comprise the first phase of a larger effort to produce 200 MW over time. The utility companies are constructing the solar projects are in response to the 2020 bill passed by the West Virginia Legislature that “authorizes electric utilities to own and operate up to 200 megawatts of solar renewable generation facilities to help meets the state’s electricity needs.”
In addition to this third site (Marlowe in Berkeley County) the first site, constructed at Fort Martin Power Plant in Maidsville, WV (Monongalia County), was completed in January 2024 (18.9 MW). In March 2024, construction began on the second site in Rivesville, WV (5.5 MW), Marion County and the plant began operations in October 2024. The companies plan to seek final approval from the WV Public Service Commission to build the fourth and fifth solar sites in Davis in Tucker County (11.5 MW) and Weirton in Hancock County (8.4 MW).
A total of 87,000 solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) will be available for customers to purchase. To date the utility companies have enrolled both residential customers and large commercial and institutional customers in Morgantown and Harpers Ferry. The town of Harpers Ferry, WV signed an agreement with FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison to purchase solar energy to power 100 percent of the town’s streetlight and town hall energy from the proposed solar facility.
Contact:
To subscribe or for more information, Mon Power and Potomac Edison customers in West Virginia can visit https://www.firstenergycorp.com/mon_power/wv-solar-program.html or call 1-800-505-7283
References:
FirstEnergy Corp. (Sept. 23, 2024). Mon Power and Potomac Edison Break Ground on Third Solar Site: Former ash landfill in Berkeley County to be repurposed for clean energy source. First Energy Corp. Website. https://www.firstenergycorp.com/newsroom/news_articles/mp-and-pe-break-ground-on-third-solar-site.html Accessed 2/7/25
Tate, Curtis (Sept. 23, 2024). Mon Power Begins Construction on 3rd Solar Site In State. WV Public Broadcasting website. https://wvpublic.org/mon-power-begins-construction-on-3rd-solar-site-in-state/ Accessed 2-7-25
Jones, Eric (Sept. 27, 2024). Construction underway on Berkeley County solar site. The Journal News (Martinsburg, WV) website. https://www.journal-news.net/journal-news/construction-underway-on-berkeley-county-solar-site/article_cd189170-3c40-562f-97c1-69da1a715ab8.html Accessed 2-7-25
FirstEnergy Corp. (Jan 17, 2023). Mon Power and Potomac Energy Move Closer to Construction of Solar Power Plants with Clean Energy Commitment from Harpers Ferry. FirstEnergy Corp. website. https://www.firstenergycorp.com/newsroom/news_articles/mon-power-and-potomac-edison-move-closer-to-construction-of-sola.html#:~:text=Mon%20Power%20will%20build%2C%20own,Power%20substation%20in%20Hancock%20County Accessed 2-7-25
