Solar Holler

Y’all this has been a long time coming… Last winter we first told you about our partnership with Wayne County Schools… That we’d be solarizing every eligible building under the school system’s purview and saving taxpayers something like $6.5 million in energy costs over the next 25 years. That’s a whole lot of money that can be rerouted into more important things like new technology, textbooks, art supplies, and teacher salaries. After months of designing, engineering, permitting, and other project development work, we officially have glass on the roof at Ceredo-Kenova Elementary School! We are so proud of the Solar Holler team for navigating the largest Power Purchase Agreement to date in West Virginia, and the largest demonstration of solar on public schools anywhere in Appalachia. We’re grateful to the Wayne County Board for being an amazing partner and to all of our interns from Wayne High and Spring Valley High who have played a special role in this story. We’re beyond excited to see this vision becoming reality and look forward to delivering solar to the remaining Wayne County Schools in the coming months.

We trust that y’all are enjoying this Labor Day weekend and that our fellow West Virginians in the room know a thing or two about its origin story (aka the Labor movement). But, we just can’t forgo an opportunity to brag about our home state, especially when it comes to all we’ve achieved for the hard working guys and gals of Appalachia and beyond. Or why we feel so passionate at Solar Holler about carrying on the work our ancestors started more than 100 years ago. The story goes something like this… West Virginians gave our limbs and our lungs and, yes, our lives to power this nation for 150 years. And all the while, the wealth that we pulled out of the ground--the wealth that we shipped off carload by carload-- it never trickled down to us. So finally we joined together. Right here in these mountains, we donned the red bandanas, we demanded the right to organize, the right to be paid in real US dollars, the right to be paid enough to eat, the right to come home with all ten fingers and all ten toes. And big surprise, the powers that be didn't like any of that. So on the first week of September one hundred and three years ago, their planes flew in to drop bombs on our people as they marched in Logan County. It was the biggest labor uprising in US history and the only time since the Civil War that the US Army fought Americans. But we fought on, and we won all those rights. In the process we inspired a nation and built a movement. We built an actual middle class, not just in West Virginia, but across America.  That's why we're so proud to be West Virginian. Our people work hard. Our people know what's fair and what's right. And we won't settle for less. Just because the source of our energy is changing, just because we're on rooftops and in attics instead of mineshafts, doesn't mean we’ve forgotten our history. We’re proud to carry forward the legacy of energy and the legacy of our union organizing with the IBEW and Carpenter’s unions. We admire the amazing solar systems our unionized crews deliver to other hard working Appalachians every single day and wish all of you a happy, healthy Labor Day.

We trust that y’all are enjoying this Labor Day weekend and that our fellow West Virginians in the room know a thing or two about its origin story (aka the Labor movement). But, we just can’t forgo an opportunity to brag about our home state, especially when it comes to all we’ve achieved for the hard working guys and gals of Appalachia and beyond. Or why we feel so passionate at Solar Holler about carrying on the work our ancestors started more than 100 years ago. The story goes something like this… West Virginians gave our limbs and our lungs and, yes, our lives to power this nation for 150 years. And all the while, the wealth that we pulled out of the ground--the wealth that we shipped off carload by carload-- it never trickled down to us. So finally we joined together. Right here in these mountains, we donned the red bandanas, we demanded the right to organize, the right to be paid in real US dollars, the right to be paid enough to eat, the right to come home with all ten fingers and all ten toes. And big surprise, the powers that be didn't like any of that. So on the first week of September one hundred and three years ago, their planes flew in to drop bombs on our people as they marched in Logan County. It was the biggest labor uprising in US history and the only time since the Civil War that the US Army fought Americans. But we fought on, and we won all those rights. In the process we inspired a nation and built a movement. We built an actual middle class, not just in West Virginia, but across America.  That's why we're so proud to be West Virginian. Our people work hard. Our people know what's fair and what's right. And we won't settle for less. Just because the source of our energy is changing, just because we're on rooftops and in attics instead of mineshafts, doesn't mean we’ve forgotten our history. We’re proud to carry forward the legacy of energy and the legacy of our union organizing with the IBEW and Carpenter’s unions. We admire the amazing solar systems our unionized crews deliver to other hard working Appalachians every single day and wish all of you a happy, healthy Labor Day.

We had fun celebrating today with our friends from the Appalachian Solar Finance Fund, Mayor Bob Scott, and the town of Gauley Bridge, as we cut the ribbon on their brand new solar system. All in, their 195 panels will deliver more than $130,000 of savings to the town. Congrats to the people of Gauley Bridge and welcome to the Sun Miner family!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Inflation Reduction Act! We know we're biased, having gotten to know you even before you were born, but still. It's incredible to see how fast you've grown, and just how much goodness you've brought to America in just two short years. Because of you, every nonprofit in America is free to go solar and shake off the shackles of the utilities. Because of you, West Virginia is now home to world-changing battery plants that will keep the lights on no matter the weather. Because of you, West Virginians of every stripe and polka dot--whether rich or poor--can now take control of their power supply and power bill. Because of you, solar panels are now being made coast to coast--from Washington to Arizona to Georgia and Virginia. Because of you, we now get all of our rails out of New Mexico and Ohio. Because of you, our microinverters are now coming to us from South Carolina, and Wisconsin, and Texas. Solar is best when it's American, from start to finish. You made it happen. You've got so much more growing to do. And no matter how big you get, and how far you travel--don't you ever forget that you had fans in the hills and hollers who brought you into this world, and were rooting for you from the very beginning.

We’ve known since last year when MonPower and Potomac Edison drew first blood in the net-metering battle that it was simply a matter of time before AEP followed suit. Y’all saw where AEP filed late last week to drastically increase rates on West Virginians (and by drastically, we’re talkin’ some really massive numbers). What you may not realize is at the same time, they asked our Public Service Commission to underpay families, schools, businesses, and nonprofits for the value of their solar. Of course we won't stand for that. AEP needs to be focused on new technology that will reduce costs for families and organizations. Things like batteries and how to build a more resilient power grid. And what AEP pays for solar needs to be fair. We're going to be pushing for clear, transparent math that fairly compensates the thousands of West Virginians who are generating electricity for themselves and their neighbors. We've seen this before, and we've won this before, so we're not worried. But we are getting to work. West Virginians can't afford the rate hikes that AEP is trying to jam through. Y’all are shouting about it in the comments section of every media outlet covering this news– but the best form of protest is to take action. Keep commenting, yes! Just don’t give this out of state monopoly utility your business for one more day. While we can’t know exactly how this’ll play out, what we do know is that folks who’ve already gone solar or who do it before any policy changes roll out, should be grandfathered into the current rate system. Make the switch now while you’re still guaranteed full net-metering and protect yourself from this nonsense forever.

Congrats to our amazing team for successfully defending Solar Holler's title as West Virginia's #1 Solar Contractor for 2024, according to our friends at Solar Power World! We also held steady in Kentucky as the #2 residential installer in the Bluegrass State for the second year running. With several Amicus Solar Cooperative partners joining the rankings, we're certainly in good company. Congrats all. It takes a movement.

According to President JFK, “the sun does not always shine in West Virginia, but the people always do.” The sun will be up for more than 14 hours today, but technically speaking, JFK wasn’t wrong. The people of West Virginia certainly shined bright when we chose to secede from Virginia and fight against slavery on this day 161 years ago. We shined bright when we demanded worker protections at the turn of the 20th century and paved the way for organized labor and unions nationwide. We shined bright by powering the country through multiple world wars and by building our nation’s biggest cities carload by carload… And we shined bright when we banded together this spring in the spirit of our rebellious ancestors to fight against an out of state monopoly utility company’s attempts to kill our homespun solar industry in West Virginia. We’ll keep shining bright as we forge the new energy economy of tomorrow’s Appalachia and rebuild local communities along the way. Check out the video for more on how we’re doing it. Montani Semper Liberi!

Congrats to the 10 graduates of our most recent solar training program, held from April 8 to May 3! This training provided several industry recognized certifications and hands-on experience to help these folks jumpstart a career in the solar industry. Special thanks to Solar Holler for providing on-the-job training at a couple of their sites during the final week. Keep an eye out for more trainings like this one! #CoalfieldDevelopment