FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiary West Penn Power has begun work to connect a pair of solar energy projects developed by global power company AES Corporation to the electric grid, enabling 220 MW of solar power to be designated for a customer power purchase agreement by early 2024.
For the first project, West Penn Power will expand its McConnellsburg substation in Fulton County, PA and add a new terminal at the substation to provide a connection point for a 70-megawatt solar farm that AES is developing in Ayr Township.
The second project is a 150-MW solar farm in Peters and Saint Thomas Townships in Franklin County. West Penn Power is constructing a new substation on McDowell Road that will serve as an interconnection for the farm. AES will build a 138-kV line from the solar farm into the substation, and West Penn Power will add a 378-foot loop to connect the substation to one of its existing 138-kV transmission lines that runs between the company’s Guilford and McConnellsburg substations. The company will make upgrades at the Guilford and McConnellsburg substations to support the solar project as well.
West Penn Power expects to complete the connection work for both projects in late 2023, with the two solar farms expected to be in service and delivering clean energy in early 2024.
Through its multi-year Energizing the Future initiative, FirstEnergy is upgrading its transmission system with equipment and technologies meant to reinforce the power grid and help reduce the frequency and duration of customer outages. Since 2014, FirstEnergy has upgraded or replaced existing power lines, incorporated smart technology into the grid and upgraded dozens of substations with new equipment and enhanced security features. Through 2022, FirstEnergy has invested more than $10 billion in the Energizing the Future initiative.
