Mon Power and Potomac Edison, subsidiaries of FirstEnergy, have submitted an application to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia for approval to build five utility-scale solar energy projects throughout the companies’ West Virginia service territory.

As progress continues on Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the largest offshore wind project in development in the U.S., the estimated cost of the project has increased to $10 billion.

Collaborating groups in Southwest Virginia plan to repurpose land previously used for coal mining and convert it into sites for solar development. Five different sites in Wise County are designated to become utility-scale solar farms over the next few years.