Mon Power and Potomac Edison Break Ground on Third Solar Site

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Sep 23, 2024, 12:39 ET

Former ash landfill in Berkeley County to be repurposed for clean energy source

FAIRMONT, W.Va., Sept. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mon Power and Potomac Edison, subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), have begun construction on their third utility-scale solar site in West Virginia to help meet the state's electricity needs and further encourage economic development.

Potomac Edison Logo (PRNewsfoto/FirstEnergy Corp.)

The Marlowe solar project is located along Interstate 81 and the Potomac River on a 36-acre property in Berkeley County that was previously an ash disposal site for the former R. Paul Smith Power Station. In 2022, after removing more than three million tons of ash, FirstEnergy successfully completed the closure of the landfill, paving the way for its redevelopment as part of the companies' solar program.

Dan Rossero, Vice President of FirstEnergy's West Virginia Generation: "The redevelopment of this site into a clean, renewable energy source is aligned with our commitment to support economic growth in West Virginia as well as our efforts to build a more sustainable future for the communities we serve."

Expected to be complete in 2025, the Marlowe solar facility will produce up to 5.75 megawatts of renewable power. One megawatt of solar energy powers a national average of 173 homes, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. As with its other solar projects, Mon Power and Potomac Edison are using local union workers for construction, and the solar panels, racking system steel and supporting electrical equipment are made in the United States.

The project is part of the companies' West Virginia solar program, which supports a 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 meet the state's electricity needs. The addition of new renewable generation also encourages economic development in West Virginia, as a growing number of companies require that a portion of the electricity they purchase be generated by renewable sources.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison are developing five solar projects that will total 50 megawatts of renewable solar generation, the first phase of 200 megawatts the companies plan to develop over time. The companies completed their first solar project at Fort Martin Power Station in Maidsville (18.9 megawatts) in January and started construction in March at a second site in Rivesville (5.5 megawatts).

Combined, the five projects will create more than 87,000 solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) available for purchase by customers who support renewable energy in West Virginia. SRECs are certificates that represent the environmental attributes of solar power and prove solar energy was generated on the purchasers' behalf. For every megawatt hour of solar renewable electricity generated, one SREC is produced.

Since the inception of the solar program, Mon Power and Potomac Edison have enrolled residential customers as well as large commercial and institutional customers including the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown and the town of Harpers Ferry. The cost to purchase SRECs through the program is 4 cents per kilowatt hour in addition to normal rates. To subscribe or find out more about the solar program, Mon Power and Potomac Edison customers in West Virginia can visit firstenergycorp.com/WVsolar or call 1-800-505-7283.

The companies will seek final approval from the Public Service Commission of West Virginia to build solar sites in Davis, Tucker County (11.5 MW), and Weirton, Hancock County (8.4 MW), when they have customer commitments for 85% of the renewable energy credits generated by those projects.

Mon Power serves about 395,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties. Follow Mon Power at mon-power.com, on X @MonPowerWV, and on Facebook at facebook.com/MonPowerWV.

Potomac Edison serves about 285,000 customers in seven counties in Maryland and 155,000 customers in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Follow Potomac Edison at potomacedison.com, on X @PotomacEdison, and on Facebook at facebook.com/PotomacEdison.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving more than six million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at firstenergycorp.com and on X @FirstEnergyCorp.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.