BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Lynn Bark Energy Center’s plans to build a massive solar facility in Martin County are moving forward and the public has a chance to weigh in. The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) is reviewing the company’s application for a facility capable of generating up to 200 megawatts of power and has set a formal evidentiary hearing.
If anyone has thoughts, now is the time to share them. The hearing for the case (No. 2024-00104) is on the calendar for Oct. 16 at 9 a.m. before the Kentucky State Board on Electric Generation and Transmission Siting. It will take place in the PSC’s Richard Raff Hearing Room in Frankfort and will be streamed live on the PSC website.
Public comments will be heard before the start of the hearing, and instructions for joining will be available online (psc.ky.gov).
Written comments can be submitted via a form on the PSC website (www.psc.ky.gov/Case/PublicComments/2024-00104), by email (psc.comments@ky.gov) or by mail (P.O. Box 615, Frankfort, KY 40602-0615). Commenters should reference case number 2024-00104 and include their name, address and phone number.
Lynn Bark Energy Center, owned by Savion LLC, filed its application in June for the solar facility that will be built on 1,514 acres of reclaimed mine land, former Martin County Coal in Inez. The project will feature about 357,588 solar panels, 51 inverters, a substation transformer and related equipment.
The facility will connect to the local energy grid through Kentucky Power’s Inez substation on the former Martiki mine site in Pilgrim.
Erich Miarka, a representative of Savion, conducted a public meeting Jan. 11 in Inez on the proposed Lynn Bark project.
Savion, the parent company of Lynn Bark, is already testing a $231 million solar plant on the former Martiki mine site. Toyota has committed to purchasing 100 megawatts of electricity from the MCSP.
According to Savion, the MCSP is being built in two phases: Phase 1 will generate 111 megawatts, while Phase 2 will add 89 megawatts.
As part of a deal with Martin County, Savion will make annual payments in lieu of taxes at a rate of $1,500 per megawatt to be shared by the fiscal court and school district for 30 years.
Construction began in October 2023 on the MCSP. In August, MCSP announced that it was in the testing stage: “Equipment is already installed and able to function, but it’s not yet connected to the grid to deliver power. A small crew spends months thoroughly assessing each component of the project to ensure that equipment is functioning properly and meeting or exceeding all proper standards. After the site completes testing, the project is commissioned and begins delivering power to the grid.”
Savion is also developing a 100-megawatt solar plant in north central Pike County under the subsidiary Pike County Solar Project LLC. It will use approximately 1,543 acres comprised of multiple tracts of reclaimed mine with forested portions, along with approximately 192,000 photovoltaic solar panels and associated racking, approximately 25 inverters and a project substation transformer.
For additional information on the Lynn Bark Energy case at the PSC view psc.ky.gov/Case/ViewCaseFilings/2024-00104. For other inquiries visit Lynn Bark’s website lynnbarkenergycenter.com or email Caleb Lemoine, Lynn Bark’s representative, at clemoine@savionenergy.com.
Savion is a subsidiary of Shell New Energies US LLC (Royal Dutch Shell) and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.