Revitalizing coal country using solar power, with Solar Holler
West Virginia’s grid is so dirty that just one solar panel is equal to 150 solar panels in Vermont. Here's the story of how Solar Holler is changing that through retraining coal miners as solar miners
For more than a century, the Appalachian Mountains have been America's coal country. Now, thanks to efforts by companies like Solar Holler, they have the opportunity to become a solar state. We spoke to Dan Conant, CEO and founder at Solar Holler to learn why embracing renewable energy in West Virginia is transforming communities, improving health, and revitalizing the economy, and why their partnership with WattCarbon enables them to put a dollar sign on the environmental benefits of the project––key to achieving speed and scale.
This article is part of WattCarbon’s Every Watt-Hour Tells a Story series, spotlighting how WattCarbon partners are deploying distributed clean energy to achieve climate impact, here and now.
The big idea
West Virginia is one of the US’s biggest energy producers, (fifth, to be exact). So why is it one of the poorest?
That’s the reality Solar Holler CEO and founder Dan Conant set out to change over a decade ago installing solar panels at his local Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church. A project that generated so much solar demand that it soon outstripped the number of trained installers in the state.
His idea? Retraining coal miners as solar miners.
This is about more than watt-hours
There’s a reason West Virginia is informally known as “coal country”. No state is more reliant on coal for its electricity (92% of its grid is coal-based). Since the mid-1800s the Mountain State has mined coal, and is currently still the second-largest coal producer in the nation, after Wyoming.
In fact, West Virginia’s grid is so dirty that the carbon emissions reductions from just one solar panel are equal to 150 solar panels in Vermont.
And the effects of that are easy to see.
Today, shuttered coal plants and mines leave behind degraded lands or brownfields that continue to pollute waterways and drinking water. Communities have been subject to greater exposure to pollution from coal-mining activity that increases the risk for fatal diseases, with 60,000 cases of cancer in Appalachia having been directly linked to mountaintop coal removal to date.
Make no mistake – this isn’t about stripping West Virginia of its status as an energy producer. This is about finding a healthier way to do it.
As Conant puts it, “this isn’t just about clean energy, or solar panels, or watt-hours.This symbolizes so much more. We are building a new renewable energy economy to demand environmental justice for communities that have been ignored for decades.”
What’s the hold up?
Despite the US solar boom, the transition to renewable energy in West Virginia is not without its challenges. West Virginia is quite different from rooftop solar hotspots like California. Solar growth in those areas benefits from high electricity prices and wealthier populations, which isn’t the case in West Virginia, where the average household income is $40,000. Financing and funding are the primary barrier to entry for most residents; with homeowners (quite rightly!) hesitant to take on long-term loans, even if it would save them money in the long run.
How clean energy buyers can help coal communities cut fossil fuels
Additional funding and financing from energy attribute certificates (EACs) enables Solar Holler to think even bigger.
With the added revenue from EACs, Solar Holler can lower up front costs for their customers and make project finance affordable and accessible for low-income households in environmental justice communities.
This is exactly what happened at the Wayne County Schools project in the heart of coal country. Across 21 facilities, Solar Holler is setting up 21 solar projects via power purchase agreements, saving schools $6-7 million across the next 25 years in energy costs.
As Conant tells us, “when the future of the planet lies on kids' shoulders, the least we can do is clean up their classrooms and cut their bills.”
Why now?
To date, Solar Holler's efforts are equivalent to avoiding the use of over 23 million pounds of coal. But they are able to do more.
Solar Holler’s training program for high school leavers is equipping the next generation of solar miners through apprentice programs––providing good paying, green jobs to keep folks in West Virginia and plough money back in local communities hit hard by coal mine closures. And as one of the first solar companies in the area to proactively unionize, it’s doing things right.
What’s next?
Ten years from now, Solar Holler wants to tell a story of a transformed fossil fuel community; renewed and revitalized by the power of clean air, green jobs, and energy ownership.
On the role that WattCarbon and clean energy buyers can play in that transformation? Conant shares that,
“We are poised for exponential growth no matter what. But it could be significantly more if we make the right moves now. WattCarbon is instrumental in helping us funnel corporate investment towards that end goal.”
McGee Young, CEO and founder at WattCarbon shares that “Solar Holler is punching well above their watt-hour when it comes to driving outsized climate impacts. The fossil fuel industry started this mess in West Virginia, and the clean energy industry can end it. WattCarbon is proud to be partnering with Solar Holler to help provide a blueprint for communities to regain their health, and their dignity, in a fossil fuel-free future, all while growing the economy through new green jobs and cheaper bills.”
West Virginia used to be known for its coal. Let’s get it known for its solar!
Get involved
Interested in learning more? Discover EAC opportunities with Solar Holler on the WattCarbon Marketplace.
You’re invited: ‘Every Watt-Hour Tells a Story: Live’
Join us for our first “Every Watt-Hour Tells a Story: Live” webinar featuring Kosh Samuel, CEO & founder of C3 Carbon Funding and McGee Young, CEO & founder of WattCarbon.
📍 Online
📆 July 11, 2024
⏰ 1-2pm EST
👉 Register now
We’ll share insights into how corporate EAC investments can accelerate large scale commercial and public energy efficiency projects, with real world examples of how they’re lowering barriers to get projects done.
Understand how your investments can help decarbonize landmarks like National Park facilities, or improve the energy infrastructure of municipalities, or generate capital that can be used to invest back into education.
You'll learn:
–Where energy efficiency fits within your sustainability plan
–Impact stories from EAC investments turning projects into a “yes”
–The barriers to implementing large scale energy efficiency projects
–How carbon savings from energy efficiency projects are measured and verified