Switch flipped on WVa’s largest nonprofit solar installation

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Jacob Hannah says it’s only fitting that a nonprofit that is training former coal miners to transition to renewable energy jobs will have its building powered by the sun.

Hannah, conservation coordinator at Coalfield Development, gathered with workers, city officials and others Wednesday at West Edge, the old Corbin factory, for a “Flip the Switch” celebration of the solar array installed on the saw-tooth roof of the building.

“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,” Hannah said.

A 294-solar panel project at Coalfield Development’s West Edge factory in the Westmoreland area of Huntington is the largest for a nonprofit organization in West Virginia.

“The end results speak for themselves,” Hannah said. “The array will produce enough power to offset the usage of all the operations within West Edge and save Coalfield Development over $135,000.”

West Edge focuses on workforce redevelopment, social enterprise incubation and many other opportunities, according to Hannah. There are several enterprises at West Edge, and one of them, Solar Holler, did the solar panel installation.

“Our mission from the very start was to make solar affordable, accessible and achievable for everyone in West Virginia,” said Dan Conant, founder and CEO of Solar Holler. “Through our solar financing, we’re helping homes, businesses, churches, homeless shelters and other community nonprofits switch to solar and lower their energy costs in year one of the project.”

Conant said he was proud of the work done by the installation team. Dozens of Solar Holler and Coalfield Development employees attended the ceremony.

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