Jefferson County, WV — Torch Clean Energy expects to begin construction on its Rippon solar energy project soon. The first phase of the project will include solar panels and a new substation (image above) to be constructed on 100 acres just east of the new Route 340 bypass that will loop around the village of Rippon.
The second phase of the project will be constructed on two separate locations — a 140 acre site located to the southeast of the Cloverdale Estates subdivision along Roper North Fork Road and a 600 acre site located southeast of Myerstown Road (between Kabletown Road and the Shenandoah River). Torch representative Brian Kusiak said the original plans for the project included two other parcels of land near Kabletown as an alternate site for the substation, but those properties are no longer included in the project.
According to the plans approved by Jefferson County, the company will be mounting the solar panels on a “terrain tracking” system of steel posts that are mechanically pounded into the ground (image below). Kusiak said the company used a similar system for the Bartonsville solar project it recently constructed near Stephens City in Frederick County, Virginia. The permit indicates the company will source its panels from SilfabSolar, which manufactures its products in Washington, South Carolina, and Toronto.
Kusiak said that a project of this size typically takes 12 to 18 months to complete construction.
Other Solar Projects In Jefferson County
The Rippon project will be the second industrial-scale solar project to be constructed in Jefferson County. Two projects, Wild Hill and Flowing Springs, were proposed and have been withdrawn and the Franklintown Farms project has not yet progressed beyond the concept plan stage.
Published 2026 Mar 26 in the Observer Weekly.
By Steve Pearson