Potomac Edison, Mon Power begin construction of third solar facility

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Mon Power and Potomac Edison, subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), have begun construction on a third solar farm in West Virginia to help meet the state’s electricity needs and further spur economic development.

Potomac Edison serves approximately 285,000 customers in seven counties in Maryland and 155,000 customers in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia.

The Marlowe solar project is located along Interstate 81 and the Potomac River on a 36-acre parcel in Berkeley County that was previously the site of the former R. Paul Smith Power Plant ash dump. In 2022, after removing more than three million tons of ash, FirstEnergy successfully closed the dump, paving the way for its redevelopment under the company’s solar program.

The Marlowe solar facility, scheduled for completion in 2025, will produce up to 5.75 megawatts of renewable energy. One megawatt of solar power powers an average of 173 homes nationwide, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Like other solar projects, Mon Power and Potomac Edison are hiring local union workers for construction, and the solar panels, steel racking system and auxiliary electrical equipment are manufactured in the United States.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison are developing five solar projects that will collectively generate 50 megawatts of renewable solar energy, the first phase of 200 megawatts that 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 began construction in March on a second site in Rivesville (5.5 megawatts).

The five projects will collectively 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 energy and prove that the solar energy was generated on behalf of purchasers. For every megawatt-hour of renewable solar energy, one SREC is generated.

Since the solar program began, Mon Power and Potomac Edison have signed up residential customers as well as large commercial and institutional customers, including the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown and the city of Harpers Ferry. The cost to purchase SRECs through the program is 4 cents per kilowatt-hour in addition to regular rates. To sign up or learn 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 utilities will seek final approval from the West Virginia Public Utilities Commission to build solar farms in Davis, Tucker County (11.5 MW) and Weirton, Hancock County (8.4 MW) once they have secured commitments from customers for 85% of the renewable energy credits generated by the projects.