IN DEPTH: Massive, federal project will merge multiple facets of energy industry in Nicholas County [Video]

SUMMERSVILLE, WV (WOAY) – It’s a new day for the energy industry in Nicholas County, where two massive former surface mines will be converted into solar sites capable of producing 250 megawatts of energy.

The Department of Energy is contributing $129 million dollars in federal funds to support the development, branding it as a “model for transition.”

In a fact sheet that it circulated, the Department of Energy said it would “reduce development on sensitive natural and agricultural land, produce and deliver clean power to local communities, and lay the groundwork for a regional economic revitalization starting with the workforce.”

The Nicholas County Commission was instrumental in securing the money. Commission President Garrett Cole traveled to Washington, D.C. to aid in negotiations.

“The commission here and then a few commissioners of the past was able to tee up this project. We were able to get our ground game put together. …