Around the State
COMPILED BY ANNA MOORE
Forestry Management Program Launches at Oglebay
EQT Corporation ( EQT ) recently announced the company ’ s first naturebased carbon offset initiative . EQT has partnered with the Wheeling Park Commission ; Teralytic , a soil analytics company ; and Climate Smart Environmental Consulting , LLC to implement forest management projects that will generate carbon offsets . The projects , which will span more than 1,000 acres of forest land at Oglebay and other forest property owned by the Wheeling Park Commission , will utilize Teralytic ’ s soil probe technology to ensure the quantification of offsets is accurate and transparent . To supplement those reduction efforts , this initiative will reduce or remove emissions of CO 2 from the atmosphere to offset other operational emissions and advance EQT ’ s efforts to reach net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions by or before 2025 .
The advanced soil probe technology owned by Teralytic will empirically measure the impact of the projects on soil health . Teralytic probes make possible automatic and real-time measurement of soil carbon , soil moisture and other vital soil nutrients , which eliminate the need for costly manual soil sampling to quantify carbon offsets generated . This will allow EQT to generate higher quality carbon offsets at a lower cost than traditional methods .
In conjunction with this project , EQT has also partnered with Wheeling Country Day School to pilot an educational learning program to allow students to learn about soil health by monitoring real-time changes in the health of the soil , 24 hours a day .
“ We are excited to take this first step in a partnership with EQT as the center of knowledge for forest improvement and soil health ,” says Wheeling Park Commission President and CEO Bob Peckenpaugh .
Rob Wingo , executive vice president of corporate ventures of EQT , says the company has a long-standing commitment to reducing operational emissions .
“ Our operations already have some of the lowest GHG emissions intensities in the world ,” says Wingo . “ Nature-based projects like this , which are supported by cutting edge technology that ensures accuracy and transparency , will help offset EQT ’ s remaining emissions and advance our mission to deliver cheaper , more reliable , cleaner energy to the world .”
WVU Medicine to Expand Services in Jefferson County
Residents of Jefferson County , WV , and the surrounding area will benefit from a new West Virginia University ( WVU ) Medicine regional medical office building , slated be the first to open at Blue Ridge Crossing , a 64-acre property in Charles Town .
The planned three-story , 40,000- square-foot building will be located at the intersection of US Route 340 and West Virginia Route 9 East in Charles Town . This $ 37 million project will be owned and operated by WVU Medicine Jefferson Medical Center and will house both primary and specialty care clinics in addition to laboratory , diagnostic imaging and outpatient rehabilitation services .
“ Jefferson County is one of the fastest growing areas in the state , and we are dedicated to expanding access to high-quality health care services where they are needed most ,” says Dean Thomas , WVU Medicine Berkeley and Jefferson Medical Centers president and CEO .
The anticipated groundbreaking for this new medical office building is January 2024 .
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