BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – An early agenda item in Tuesday’s regular session of the Raleigh County Commission was the decommissioning agreement for the Raleigh Solar Project.
The project, which would be implemented in conjunction with Dakota Power Partners, would equip hundreds of acres of primarily undeveloped land surrounding the Grandview Road and I-64 areas with solar panels in an effort to draw business to the state.
Development of the project has been ongoing for a number of years, and was spurred along by the passage of Senate Bill 583 – which was passed to further develop renewable energy in the Mountain State – on June 3, 2020.
West Virginia currently ranks 48th in the United States for solar energy-related growth, having fallen three spots from 45 since 2021 per the Solar Energy Industries Association – the reports for which can be seen here.
West Virginia has long relied primarily on fossil fuels as a means of providing energy, with coal having acted as the state’s hallmark resource for centuries.
Coal mining is even reported to have been occurring in the early 1800s, as per the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training, a mine in the northern panhandle near Wheeling was operational in 1810. These reports can be referenced here.
Predictably, the issue of renewable energy in the State of West Virginia has been a point of contention for many, and for lawmakers in particular.
During Tuesday’s session, Commissioner Duckworth noted there were still issues to be addressed regarding the project, stating “There’s some more discussion [to be had on] that down the road, so we’re going to table that and bring it up at a later date.”
A motion to return to the issue at another time was then proposed, and the motion carried.
More coverage on solar development in the Mountain State can be found here.
