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FROSTBURG — A new solar energy facility is in operation a few miles south of Frostburg, and could potentially power up to 3,000 homes in the local area each year.

The Jade Meadow Solar Energy Facility is comprised of hundreds of solar panels and is connected to a nearby substation on Klondike Road.

It is located on approximately 85 acres of reclaimed coal mining land that was previously unused. The land was purchased from the Allegany Coal and Land Co..

The facility is operated by REV Renewables, an energy company headquartered in New York.

The company has various projects around the country where several forms of renewable energy has been installed on reclaimed, unused land, most notably solar energy farms.

The Jade Meadow facility had a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this year after construction was completed in March.

Mike Vogt, senior vice president of development for REV Renewables, said the facility will be a great addition to the power grid in the area.

“The power from the grid can be used anywhere in the region,” Vogt said. “Once (solar) energy is produced, it can be given to power providers.

“The electrons that are generated from this solar do get used here locally, that’s just the nature of physics,” Vogt said. “But once they hit the grid, it can go anywhere.”

Power generated from the facility can also be carried across parts of the mid-Atlantic, according to Vogt. This is because the solar farm is just one small piece of an even bigger interconnected power network.

The facility contains 50,000 modules — each one produces 540 watts of power.

Vogt said that the solar farm will operate at peak energy production in the summer months, which is perfect timing for the heavy usage of air conditioners and extra residential power consumption.

After the land was purchased in 2018, environmental impacts were already limited due to the previous nature of the land being a coal mine.

While some of the meadow’s trees were removed, the area was already mostly cleared.

“It’s a relatively small (impact),” Vogt said.

Pollinator habitat areas were planted throughout the solar farm to further limit the facility’s carbon footprint. While they have struggled to grow due to the summer’s extreme drought, they could still make an impact, according to Vogt.

REV Renewables donated $5,000 to Allegany County’s Robotics and Engineering in Allegany County — Together Inc. Program, also known as REACT.

“The purpose of the donation is to help school-aged children in Allegany County develop skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” the company said in a press release.

REACT is a program offered to children in the county to spur interest in STEM and to head-start future careers in the field.

“For every project we do, we look for ways to give back to the community,” Vogt said.

“We have to invest in the future.”

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