Charleston Gazette-Mail
Renewable energy company aims to power WV National Guard at Hobet site
By Max Garland Staff writer 15 hrs ago (…)
Hobet Mine Rock Creek Development
The former Hobet surface mine site in Boone County.
Gazette-Mail file photo
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An ambitious renewable energy project in its infancy plans to provide a self-sustaining power source to the West Virginia National Guard’s operations at the Rock Creek Development Park.
Renewable energy producer Green Line Energy, based in Mingo County’s Red Jacket, wants to develop an electrical generation system that doesn’t require fossil fuels to power the National Guard’s training installation at Rock Creek, according to Delegate Rodney Miller, D-Boone.
“This could be a small-scale production that could turn into a huge industry,” Miller said.
Green Line Energy is the first entity not tied to the National Guard to announce that it wants to set up operations on the 12,000-acre site of Rock Creek, located on the former Hobet 21 surface coal mine between Boone and Lincoln counties.
This also will be the company’s first leap into a large-scale operation, according to Miller. The company has built a truck that generates electricity via attached wind turbines, solar panels and hydrogen gas emitted from batteries that powers a hydrogen generator, the Williamson Daily News reported in January.
“They have developed a way to produce electricity with a combination of wind, solar and hydrogen capturing,” Miller said. “If a community has been hit by a flood or a natural disaster and they are without power, they can run a community off of this truck.”
Green Line will develop a similar system of electrical generation at an existing National Guard building at Rock Creek, Miller said. The project also will generate heat that could be utilized for potential greenhouses on the reclaimed mine land, according to Miller.
The company introduced itself to the Boone County Commission on Tuesday, Miller said, to outline what its goals are and establish a relationship with officials early in the process.
In an email, Green Line Energy CEO Daniel Hicks said he was unavailable for an interview Tuesday and didn’t respond to follow-up questions regarding the project’s cost, estimated launch date or projected job numbers.
Kris Mitchell, director of the Boone County Community and Economic Development Corp., said Green Line needs to go through a feasibility study with the National Guard before its power is being used for military purposes, which will take about a year.
“It sounds really great, and they have a lot of investors interested in the company,” Mitchell said, adding that retired Maj. Gen. Allen Tackett, the former adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, is a supporter of the project. “We’re open for anyone looking to locate here.”
Officials like Mitchell have been hopeful that companies will bring manufacturing operations to the site, creating jobs in a job-starved area. National Guardsmen have been working at the site since November.
If all goes according to plan, Miller said, businesses will move to the former mine and use Green Line to power their own operations. Excess power from the project could be sold to Appalachian Power, he said.
“Rock Creek is one of those places that needed a spark for industry looking to locate there, something outside the box,” Miller said.
Reach Max Garland at max.garland@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or follow @MaxGarlandTypes on Twitter.
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Max Garland
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