Top
The Official Website of the State of West Virginia

The Dam Has Broken And West Virginia Has Awoken To Solar Power

5/20/2021

The coal industry’s tight grip on West Virginia is loosening. That dam is cracking and is giving way to alternative fuels. Consider the case of Nitro Construction Services, which provides commercial and industrial businesses with electrical, mechanical, and technological services: the company is rooted in the coal industry but it is now ramping up its solar business.  


Corporations and constituents are putting pressure on state policymakers to pave the way for sustainable energy. And solar energy is now a cost-effective option. Indeed, national developers are buying up reclaimed coal mining sites intending to put large-scale solar farms in their place. They are anticipating that the Biden administration will enact a major infrastructure program — one that will provide incentives to those businesses that can help lift impoverished regions.  

“I feel like we have been shot out of a cannon,” says Zach Drennen, director of solar operations for Revolt Energy that is now a subsidiary of Nitro Construction Services. “West Virginia is just waking up to solar energy. We have been a coal-loving state but the economics of solar power are now undeniable: a commercial system will pay for itself in six years and a residential one in nine years. Even customers located in areas that are mountainous and cloudy will save money.” 

Learn more about solar power in WV at Forbes: