Solar Co-ops Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Huntington Solar Co-Op Hoping to Gain Energy

A group of people in and around Huntington are joining together to try to make solar power a reality for their homes.

It’s a solar co-op. A group of residents from the Huntington community and the surrounding areas are using the power of a group to purchase solar panels. It’s not the first solar co-op in the state. Previous co-ops have been formed in Morgantown, Wheeling and Charleston. And solar co-ops are coming together in Beckley, Lewisburg and the Mid-Ohio Valley region of the state.

“I moved to a total electric home, so hot water, furnace, everything electric,” Brown said. So part of it was to bring down the price of my energy, and I’m really interested in environmental issues and sustainability so I wanted to do my part, I guess.”

That’s Cheryl Brown. She’s one of the members of the Morgantown co-op that got its panels in late 2015.

The co-op there was set up by the non-profit West Virginia Sun. They say their mission is to fight for the energy rights of people in the state and set up the co-ops throughout the state. Altogether, they’ve helped organize 13 different solar co-ops in West Virginia. Autumn Long is the solar co-op coordinator for WV Sun.

“Our co-ops work on the model of bulk purchase, so we’re able to pool our buying power as a group and it also benefits the installer because they get a number of jobs in the same location and the same time frame, so they’re able to buy in larger bulk and they can pass that savings on to the customers,” Long said.

The process begins after 20-30 people sign up to join the co-op and qualify, meaning they have a westward facing roof with enough space to handle solar panels. A purchasing committee group from the co-op will issue a request for proposals from area installers. Co-op members review the bids and choose a single installer to service all the homes in the group.

Then each individual member of the co-op will get an estimate from the installer on what it would cost for his or her home.

Jim Kotcon joined the Morgantown Co-Op. He says it was something he wanted to do for a while and then the co-op came along and helped him afford the panels. He has a 2,800 square foot house, with a 5 kilowatt system, which worked out to 20 solar panels on his roof. He paid just under $15,000, which as Long said is about the average for homes in the state. After tax credits other incentives, he thinks he’ll have his money back in 10-12 years. In Kotcon’s case, the system is set up to provide all the power his home needs.

Candice and Jim Kotcon had thier solar panels installed in November of 2015 as members of the Morgantown Co-op.

“We have a net metering arrangement with the local utilities so that in summer when we’re generating more than we need it bank credits, and then we use those up in the winter,” Kotcon said. “We still do have to pay a $5 month connection fee to stay connected to the grid, but on average that is pretty much the main electric bill that we have left.”

Sharon Slater, who lives in Culloden in eastern Cabell County, hears those numbers and gets excited about the prospects for helping her wallet and the environment. Slater’s ultimate goal is to rely on solar panels alone for her energy needs.

“But being in my late 60s, I’m really interested in being able to stay in my all-electric home where I have no access to natural gas,” Slater said.

Autumn Long of WV Sun said many of the participants in each co-op have wanted to go with solar for a while, but are afraid of starting the process on their own. Long said of the few dozen in each co-op, only a limited number end up with solar panels. The price can be prohibitive and in some situations, the home may not be able to ultimately accommodate the panels.

Long said she hopes this is just the beginning of solar in the Huntington community.

“We really want to see solar take root in the Huntington area and as the ball gets rolling and people get more and more comfortable with this technology and seeing it on their neighbors’ homes and local schools and residences, it just becomes more and more mainstream and a fact of life, so it really gains momentum,” Long said.

The Huntington co-op will meet again March 30^th as the co-op continues to find more members. So far, 54 people have signed up in the Huntington area, but only 14 have been approved for the process based on the roof assessment.

W.Va.'s First State Capitol Building Restored and Solarized

Standing in downtown Wheeling, “the original gate to the West” (as Wheelonians sometimes call it), it’s hard to throw a stone without hitting something historically significant. That is especially true at 1413 Eoff Street, the First State Capitol Building (constructed in 1858). The state’s first capitol building is being restored to its 20th century glory, and also being brought into the 21st century.

“The inauguration of our first governor, Arthur Boreman, happened here,” said the building’s current owner, lawyer, playwright and Northern Panhandle native Patrick Cassidy. “And [Boreman] gave his inaugural address right outside the front of the building. We think that it’s also significant that the 13th, 14th, 15th amendments to the United States Constitution were ratified by the state of West Virginia in this building.”

Cassidy is a history buff—especially when it comes to his building, of course. He and his wife Mary Ellen bought the property in 1993.

Snapshot from the Wheeling-Reuther Library inside the cellar of the Fist State Capitol Building

WALS Foundation and Walter Reuther

Today, in addition to housing the Cassidy, Cogan, Shapell & Voegelin law firm, it’s also home to several small businesses and organizations as well as West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s northern news bureau, and the Wheeling Academy of Law and Science, or the WALS Foundation.

“It’s mainly an educational foundation that has classes for lawyers and also other professionals in the area,” Patrick Cassidy said.

The Cassidys established the non-profit corporation in 2004 to promote educational programming and consulting in the areas of education, employment, energy, and the environment; and also to promote local economic opportunity, employment, and job creation in Wheeling and the state.

Today the foundation is also developing The Reuther-Wheeling Library and Employment Policy Research Initiative which, in addition to providing educational programs, forums, and research opportunities, is also developing a library dedicated to Wheeling’s famous mid-20th century union leader Walter Reuther.

“We’re collecting, hopefully, all the books of local Wheeling authors and we want to display those along with things about Walter Reuther’s life, and also the economic issues that he was instrumental in developing over his lifetime,” Cassidy said, “and that is restoring middle class, issues of inequality which of course resound so importantly today.”

Solar panels were installed on the garage attached to the First State Capitol Building by an Ohio-based company, AAT Solar. The company was awarded a bid for the Wheeling Solar Co-op and is currently installing panels on homes and businesses throughout the area.

Preservation: The New Green

While the WALS Foundation has been developing inside the capitol building, the Cassidys have continued to restore the property, culminating in final restorations outside. Bucket trucks and lifts carry restoration professionals who are mixing and applying fresh coats of white plaster cement. They’re restoring the exterior of the building to the stucco, colonial-style finish that was so popular in the ‘20s.

“We’re bringing it back to probably how it looked in the 1920s when it was used as a mortuary,” explained Patrick Cassidy.

But the changes outside aren’t entirely dedicated to historical preservation. There’s an addition to the building, a garage, which was just covered in solar panels making the First State Capitol Building the first solarized building in downtown Wheeling.

Lifelong science educator and scientist, Mary Ellen Cassidy is a passionate proponent for developing renewable energy sources in West Virginia. But it was a personal incentive that got the solar ball rolling at the capitol building.

“Our 45th wedding anniversary was coming up. We decided that [solar panels] would make the best anniversary gift ever. It truly was the best anniversary gift ever,” Mary Ellen said laughing.

“It’s a gift for both of us because we both benefit from it,” Patrick interjected.

“To me it’s so much more than those physical panels,” Mary Ellen said. “It’s a symbol of hope, and we’re moving forward, and all things are possible. Every time I see those solar panels, that’s what I hope people will see.”

Patrick and Mary Ellen Cassidy say they feel strong moral obligations to not only reduce their carbon footprints but also to stimulate the economic viability of renewable energy sources and jobs that support them in West Virginia. They say old buildings here are capable of being highly efficient, modern structures.

“We’re happy that we not only have a historic landmark with the complete renovation of the First State Capitol, but we’ve also tried to make it a model of energy efficiency, to demonstrate really that preservation is the ‘new green,’” Patrick said. “I always like to think, when we think of energy saved when you rehab or restore an old building, rather than tear it down. Part of the energy – don’t forget – is the energy of all those people who came before us.”

This weekend, on Sunday November 15 from 2pm – 3:30pm, the First State Capitol will be hosting a “solar celebration.” The event is open to the public and will showcase various solar initiatives in the Ohio Valley.

Solar Co-ops Seeking Proposals from Solar Companies

Solar coops in Wheeling and Morgantown are looking for proposals from solar companies to install panels on their homes.

Residents in Wheeling and Morgantown are banding together to buy solar panels in bulk discounts for their homes and businesses. So far there have been 73 sign ups into the Wheeling coop and 86 in Morgantown. Ben Delman from the organization that is facilitating the coops, Community Power Network, reports that of those interested, about 24 homes in Wheeling and 50 in Morgantown are suitable for solar panels. Both co-ops will be open to new members through the summer.

WV SUN is sponsoring the Wheeling co-op with the Wheeling Green Table and the Morgantown co-op with the Morgantown Green Team.

The coops are also open to small businesses.

Delman says federal funding exists for small businesses in the form of loans and grants through REAP, the Rural Energy for America Program. The deadline to submit an application is the end of June.

Solar Co-Ops Developing Across State

Cooperatives aimed at reducing the costs of residential solar arrays are sprouting up around West Virginia.

The Charleston Gazette says the nonprofit WV Sun has helped form co-ops in the city of Charleston and Fayette and Monroe counties. Similar collectives are beginning to take shape in Wheeling and Morgantown.

Community Power Network spokesman Ben Delman said purchasing solar units through a co-op is a better deal for consumers. Co-op members typically save around 20 percent on systems that can cost around $15,000 to install.

Community Power Network has launched more than 30 solar co-ops in Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland.

Tuesday, WV Sun is sponsoring the first meeting for the Charleston solar co-op at the West Virginia State University Economic Development Center.