Solar power in West Virginia facts for kids
Imagine West Virginia using the sun to power homes and schools! Solar power on rooftops could provide almost a quarter (23%) of all the electricity used in the state. This would come from about 6,300 megawatts of solar panels.
West Virginia has some of the cheapest electricity in the United States, costing about $0.062 per kilowatt-hour. Because electricity is so inexpensive, it might be the last state to reach "grid parity." This is when solar panels become cheaper than buying electricity from the power grid. For solar power to be as cheap as regular electricity in West Virginia, solar panels would need to cost around $1,850 for every kilowatt installed. This is because West Virginia gets about 4.3 hours of good sunlight each day.
Using solar power is also great for the environment. It creates much less pollution than burning coal to make electricity. This is a big reason why many people want to use more renewable energy, like solar, in West Virginia.
To help people use solar power, West Virginia has a system called Net metering. This means if your solar panels make more electricity than you use, the extra power goes back to the grid. You get credit for it! Homeowners can get credit for up to 25 kilowatts of power. Larger businesses can get credit for up to 2 megawatts.
There are also ways to save money when installing solar panels. The United States government offers a 30% tax credit. West Virginia also has its own 30% tax credit, but it's limited to $2,000. This means a solar system that costs $7,000 could end up costing you only $2,900 after these tax credits!
Cool Solar Projects
Big Solar Farms
In 2012, the biggest solar power setup in West Virginia was built in Charles Town. It was a 407-kilowatt solar array placed on a carport at the American Public University System financial center. This special carport even has 15 charging stations for electric cars!
Solar on Farms
In Moorefield, West Virginia, a place called Malcolm Farms started using solar power in January 2014. They put solar panels on a chicken house! These panels have made 35,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity every year. That's a lot of clean energy helping the farm.
Solar Power Numbers
This chart shows how many hours of sunlight Charleston, West Virginia, gets on average each day throughout the year. The average is about 4.35 hours per day.
|
This table shows how much solar power West Virginia has added to its electricity grid over the years. You can see that the amount of solar power has grown a lot!
| Solar Power Connected to the Grid (in Megawatts) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total Power | Added This Year | Growth (%) |
| 2010 | <0.1 | <0.1 | |
| 2011 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0% |
| 2012 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 183% |
| 2013 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 29% |
| 2014 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 18% |
| 2015 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 31% |
| 2016 | 3.8 | 0.4 | 11% |
| 2017 | 5.8 | 2 | 52% |
| 2018 | 6.9 | 1.1 | 19% |
| 2019 | 9.8 | 2.9 | 42% |
| 2020 | 11.2 | 1.4 | 14% |
| 2021 | 18.2 | 7 | 63% |
| 2022 | 30 | 11.8 | 65% |
