RAVENSWOOD, W.Va. (WCHS) — Ravenswood and Ripley Middle Schools saw the launch of a new classroom immersion in energy developed with state educators and Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables, the company building a large solar power plant in Jackson County.

Students will get to build circuits, explore the gathering and storage of solar energy along with key electrical concepts.

“What we’re doing here now is teaching students real-world skills that they can use just down the road here at Berkshire Hathaway and anywhere,” West Virginia public education collaborative executive director Donna Peduto said.

BHE Renewables is building a microgrid nearby which will operate about 400 acres of solar panels. The project is being developed at a time when the future of solar is unclear in West Virginia.

Noting the weather and lack of flat land, West Virginia’s governor is emphasizing coal, gas, and nuclear.

The Trump administration is limiting tax breaks for renewables, and

West Virginia’s Attorney-General is leading the charge to dismantle EPA rules that helped renewables while the Trump administration is limiting its tax breaks.

BHE Renewables said its focus is on the Jackson County solar farm that will power the nearby TIMET titanium plant and on education.

Lori Brookhart-Schervish said BHE Renewables is working with students to “plant that seed of curiosity of how renewable energy works and also show them what’s involved in the careers to be successful in this industry.”

Ravenswood Middle School science teacher Hope Sharp spoke with Eyewitness News on how the initiative will shape lesson plans.

“It’s not just reading about it. They’re applying it,” she said. “They can understand the world around them where they may not have had that opportunity in the past.”

West Virginia University’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Technical Assistance Center developed the solar exposure which provides students some career-oriented skills and awareness of future job opportunities along with hands-on learning opportunities.

Eventually, hundreds of students around the state in grades 6-to-8 are expected to examine the science behind solar energy and electrical concepts.