Mon Power and Potomac Edison, subsidiaries of the U.S.-based FirstEnergy Corporation, have completed the commissioning of a new 5.75-megawatt solar plant in Berkeley County, West Virginia. Built on a former 36-acre industrial site, the facility strengthens the regional deployment strategy of both companies, which aim to reach a 50-megawatt solar portfolio within the state.
Industrial land conversion and regional cooperation
The site, located near the Potomac River and Interstate 81, previously hosted an ash landfill associated with the R. Paul Smith power plant. In 2022, more than three million tons of ash were recovered for reuse in the cement industry, allowing the site to be closed. Its conversion into a solar facility is part of a programme authorised by West Virginia’s 2020 legislation, which encourages electricity providers to develop up to 200 megawatts of solar energy on brownfield or decommissioned industrial properties.
Union partnership and domestic equipment
Construction at the Marlowe site involved 54 union workers from the region. The photovoltaic panels, steel racking structures, and supporting electrical equipment were all manufactured in the United States, as part of a local sourcing strategy. Mon Power and Potomac Edison rely on technical and territorial partnerships to implement their projects, with two other sites already operational in Fort Martin (18.9 megawatts) and Rivesville (5.5 megawatts).
Access to solar certificates for commercial customers
The five planned sites are expected to generate more than 87,000 Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs), which businesses may purchase to meet their energy sourcing requirements. Each certificate corresponds to one megawatt-hour of electricity generated from solar power.
Dan Rossero, Vice President of Generation for FirstEnergy in West Virginia, stated: “Our solar projects create construction jobs, support U.S. manufacturing and help us accommodate increased demand for electricity.”
