By Fred Pace, The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — 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.” …
