Job fairs will seek local hires
“There’s a global supply chain crisis, we’re working hard to prevent any delay in the project, and we’re going to be giving a big update very soon.” –Adam Edelen, CEO of Edelen Renewables
BY PHILL BARNETT
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PILGRIM — The Martin County Solar Project, developed by Edelen Renewables and Savion, is expected to begin construction in the fourth quarter of 2022. The developers hope to meet this goal despite global supply chain issues.
Both firms will present at an upcoming Martin County Fiscal Court meeting to give specific updates on the project.
“When you’re ordering hundreds of thousands of solar panels, and the equipment used to support the [solar panel] arrays, it’s difficult in the current environment,” said CEO of Edelen Renewables and Kentucky politician Adam Edelen.
“Google solar panel availability. You would think we are in the middle of a global crisis.”
The $231 million project will create 250–300 temporary construction jobs in Martin County and 11 permanent, full-time positions. After being built on the reclaimed Martiki mine in Pilgrim, the 200-megawatt solar farm will be the first large-scale utility project on a reclaimed mountaintop removal site. The energy generated by the plant will be enough to power over 33,000 homes.
When asked about the eventual source of the 100,000 solar panels necessary to complete the project, Edelen deferred to Savion, the lead developer.
“That’s a question that will be answered in the coming weeks,” Edelen said, referring to the planned Fiscal Court meeting. “It’s a really good one, and truth is, I think they’re going to be coming from several different places.”
Despite supply chain delays for the key elements of the solar plant, Edelen and his partners are optimistic that delays will not push the start of the project beyond late 2022.
“Is there a delay? Well that’s hard to project,” said Edelen. “We still intend to be active on the site this year. We’re working hard to prevent any delay in the project.”
The Martin County Solar Project’s Workforce Development initiative, developed by Edelen Renewables and Savion, is intended to maximize local employment, according to Edelen. A task force of local stakeholders is being assembled to hold job fairs in the county to ensure jobs go to “local workers and those who’ve been displaced by the disappearance of the coal economy.”
These job fairs will be well publicized and scheduled to maximize attendance. Plans for the job fairs and the project-at-large will be discussed more specifically in the Fiscal Court meeting.
“We’ll be providing a large report to the Fiscal Court on the project status in the next several weeks.” Edelen elaborated that the date has not been set yet, but hiring and site preparation plans will be explained at the meeting.