In West Virginia, Solar is Powering the Future
“We believed that if any place deserved a pivotal investment in the next wave of energy, it would be the region and people that have historically powered the world, and now today we are doing just that.”
--Jacob Hannah, director of conservation, Coalfield Development
Huntington, West Virginia is nestled in the heart of Appalachia. The city—which directly borders both Ohio and Kentucky—long-served as a C&O Railroad hub at the confluence of the Ohio and Big Sandy rivers. Just down the road at the old Camp Creek site, Rockspring Development Corporation mined over 6 billion pounds of coal in 2008 alone.
But in Huntington, times are changing.
(The 122kW installation on the roof of the West Edge factory, Huntington, West Virginia. Photo by Sholten Singer, Herald-Dispatch)
Partnering with Solar Holler, whose motto is “Mine the Sun”, Sunwealth financed a 122kW installation on the roof of the West Edge factory in the heart of downtown. The project will benefit Coalfield Development, a nonprofit economic development corporation whose mission is to “rebuild the Appalachian economy from the ground up.”
The dozens of Solar Holler and Coalfield Development employees who attended the ribbon cutting ceremony were joined by the city’s Mayor and 15 local solar installation trainees, all of whom learned the foundations of renewable energy development as part of a solar job training program. “The growth of solar is creating new opportunities for our electricians and showing young folks here in the Huntington area that there are good jobs right here at home,” Greg Spears of the IBEW Local 317 told the Herald-Dispatch.
(In this photo from the Huntington Herald-Dispatch, Jacob Hannah of Coalfield Development and Dan Conant of Solar Holler flip the switch on the new solar installation at West Edge Factory. Photo by Sholten Singer, Herald-Dispatch)
The project--which is the largest nonprofit solar installation in the state of West Virginia--represents Sunwealth’s vision of a Better Energy Future. By partnering with local installers and developers, and investing in mission-driven projects, we’re changing who benefits from the clean energy economy by changing the way we invest in it.
To learn more about how Sunwealth makes project financing easy for our developer and installer partners, please visit our website.
Liam Davidson is an Associate at Sunwealth, and is passionate about building a cleaner, more equitable future for all of us to share. Outside of the office, Liam enjoys getting out for a row or a bike ride.