West Virginia’s largest solar farm will sit on a former coal mining site

West Virginia’s most significant photo voltaic farm will sit on the site of the 5,800-acre Hobet Mine, just one of the state’s greatest previous coal mines, which went bankrupt in 2015.

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West Virginia’s largest photo voltaic farm

The photo voltaic farm will be positioned on 3,000 acres of the web page, which straddles Boone and Lincoln counties in the southwestern portion of the point out, in close proximity to Charleston. It will ability an adjacent 2,800-acre internet site that will host industry, lodging, hospitality, and recreation, and the entire web page will be regarded as SunPark. The photo voltaic farm is the very first section of the job.

The 250-megawatt solar farm is staying designed by Kansas Metropolis, Missouri-primarily based photo voltaic and storage challenge improvement firm Savion Energy. (It’s a Shell portfolio business.)

SEVA WV is the principal developer of the SunPark job, and it will be led by SEVA WV’s Devanna Corley, who said [via WV News]:

I am influenced by the blank canvas presented in Boone and Lincoln counties. There is a real opportunity to carry new business enterprise, increase inhabitants, produce tourism, and instruct our little ones about the value of renewable energy.

Like Senator [Joe] Manchin [D-WV], SEVA supports a variety of strength insurance policies. This features renewables these as solar and wind, as perfectly as coal and purely natural gasoline, which West Virginia markets on a world scale.

SunPark is due to be done no later than 2024. The solar farm is an close to $320 million expense and is predicted to generate in between 250-300 building employment that will spend an ordinary wage of $30 an hour.

In February 2020, Electrek described that West Virginia lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to raise photo voltaic in the point out general.

April 8 correction: SEVA-WV is the principal developer of the Solar Park enhancement project. Savion is the solar developer that has been selected to produce the solar portion of the venture.

Read extra: West Virginia may perhaps put in solar on former coal websites

Electrek’s Consider

I was feeling quite satisfied about this news, right up until I examine Corley’s quotation. Corley, who is director of business improvement for improvement group The Thrasher Team, said SEVA WV, like Manchin, also supports a “diversity of energy guidelines,” which include coal and normal gas.

We know why Manchin backs fossil fuels – they are a hard cash cow for him.

But why does Corley back again fossil fuels? Does she really think that strength diversity is the respond to, or is she enjoying politics?

Study extra: The true motive Joe Manchin is sabotaging the US clean strength system

West Virginia governor Jim Justice explained that “Corley and her crew have been relentless in their endeavours to make this job a reality.”

Why would SEVA WV even will need to be “relentless” about the SunPark undertaking? The coal market is on the verge of getting obsolete. That’s why this photo voltaic farm is becoming constructed on the internet site of a big shuttered coal mine that subjects its surrounding low-earnings populations to air and water air pollution. Shouldn’t point out legislators be dashing to make it as uncomplicated as probable for solar initiatives like this to go ahead?

This is a terrific first for West Virginia, but as normal, its legislators continue to cling to fossil fuels. Heck, even the individual who spearheaded this major solar farm suggests she continue to supports coal and pure fuel.

The Solar Electrical power Industries Association experiences that West Virginia really dropped from 45th in the place in 2021, to 48th in countrywide rankings of states for solar.

With good friends like these, who needs enemies?

Image: “Ramps Mountain Mobilization Hobet Mine WV 12-07-28-159.jpg” by Duffernutter is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2..

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