(Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Corner - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

It’s exciting that one of the world’s largest solar microgrid and storage projects is currently under construction and located in West (by God) Virginia! The “Canary Solar Grid” project in Jackson County, just outside of Ravenswood, will help power a titanium manufacturing facility. A solar microgrid is an innovative, popular energy technology that’s giving businesses and communities access to cleaner and more reliable power. Energy generated by the solar array can be stored in a battery storage system for use during times when the sun doesn’t shine. This project is notable as one of the first where a large industrial plant is directly powered by a solar-plus-storage microgrid. It’s also supporting and strengthening domestic renewable energy initiatives and supply chains; 100% of the solar panels are sourced and manufactured in Ohio, and 100% of the steel used is made in the U.S. The project is a collaborative effort between BHE Renewables and Precision Castparts Corp.(PCC), specifically their Titanium Metals Corporation facility (TIMET). The companies are part of the Berkshire Hathaway diverse portfolio of businesses.

For 50 years, the 2,000 acre site was home to Century Aluminum. Their giant smelter was idled in 2009 and permanently closed in 2015. Since then the site has been an empty expanse along the Ohio River. Now PCC has started construction on the facility that will melt titanium while BHE Renewables is installing arrays of solar panels and large battery systems, which will form the microgrid that connects to the titanium facility. Demand for titanium products is rising in the U.S., driven largely by the aerospace and defense industries. As a metal, titanium is twice as strong as aluminum and weighs nearly half as much as steel, while still having a similar strength. It is durable, highly corrosion-resistant and used in industrial applications such as airplane wings and military armor as well as high-end consumer products like golf clubs and iPhones. Many people have titanium fused into their bodies, in the form of joint replacements, dental implants, and pacemakers. Transforming titanium minerals into a sturdy metal requires enormous amounts of electricity. The solar-plus-battery system will provide the reliable power supply the melting furnaces require at a cost that compares to traditional power sources.

The cost of building the solar microgrid system is eligible for investment tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was signed into law in August of 2022. The IRA provisions included clean energy production initiatives that addressed the crisis of global warming by helping the U.S. reach critical climate emissions goals of the Paris Agreement. BHE Renewables is constructing the microgrid in phases that match TIMET’s energy needs as it develops and operates its facility. Initially, the melting plant is expected to need around 18 megawatts of power to operate before ramping up to its full capacity by the end of 2027. The first phase began operations in May 2025 when the first solar microgrid panels were installed at the Ravenswood Business Park. Each phase contains part of the solar array and part of the battery system. PCC will have their TIMET facility use the solar energy to produce titanium products, creating the start of an industrial hub. It’s designed to serve 70% of TIMET’s expected energy demand. When fully built, the BHE Renewables project will include a 106 MW solar array and a battery energy storage system with a capacity of 50 MW, or 260.5 megawatt-hours. The project is expected to be a model for future industrial facilities seeking to utilize renewable energy.

Another company based in Michigan, ONE (Our Next Energy), will also be building a new factory on the site. ONE debuted a new utility scale battery storage system in February 2023 and will make the batteries the BHE Renewables facility will need right on site. And the company will continue to manufacture their utility scale battery storage system to market to other interested businesses. The batteries deploy lithium iron phosphate technology, a lower-cost chemistry that’s catching on for stationary storage. This project may be the first to show that a microgrid can meet an industrial customer’s demands as well as create economic revitalization through manufacturing without polluting the environment. With all of West Virginia’s members of Congress racing backwards towards the fossil Fool industry, my hope is more solar projects will materialize in our state’s future.

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Giulia Mannarino of Belleville, is a grandmother concerned about her two granddaughters’ futures and a member of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.