Solar power in West Virginia on rooftops can provide 23% of all electricity used in West Virginia from 6,300 MW of solar panels,[1] but West Virginia will be the last state in the United States to reach grid parity - the point where solar panels are cheaper than grid electricity - without incentives, due to the low cost of electricity - about $0.062/kWh. The point where grid parity is reached is a product of the average insolation and the average cost of electricity. At $0.062/kWh and 4.3 sun-hours/day, solar panels would need to come down to ~$1,850/kW installed to achieve grid parity. The first state in the US to achieve grid parity was Hawaii.[2] Solar power's favorable carbon footprint compared to fossil fuels is a major motivation for expanding renewable energy in the state,[3] especially when compared to coal to generate electrical power.[4]
Net metering is available continuously to residential consumers generating up to 25 kW and up to 2 MW for industrial users but is limited to 3% of peak demand the previous year.[5] In addition to the 30% federal tax credit, West Virginia has a 30% tax credit, but unlike the federal credit, is limited to $2,000. A $7,000 system can therefore be installed for $2,900.[6]
In 2012 the largest solar array in West Virginia was the 407 kW array installed on a carport at the American Public University System financial center in Charles Town, which includes 15 charging stations for electric cars.[7]
In Moorefield, West Virginia, Malcolm Farms has generated 35,000 kWh annually January 2014 from a solar installation on a poultry house.[8]
DateFormat = x.yPeriod = from:0 till:5.5TimeAxis = orientation:verticalScaleMajor = unit:month increment:1 start:0 TextData = pos:(15,220) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:hrs pos:(205,25) textcolor:black fontsize:S text:Month pos:(90,230) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:Charleston Sun Hours/day (Avg = 4.35 hrs/day) Colors = id:yellow value:yellow PlotData= width:20 textcolor:black bar:Jan color:yellow from:0 till:3.01 text:3.01 shift:(-10,50) bar:Feb color:yellow from:0 till:3.44 text:3.44 shift:(-10,55) bar:Mar color:yellow from:0 till:4.51 text:4.51 shift:(-10,70) bar:Apr color:yellow from:0 till:5.13 text:5.13 shift:(-10,75) bar:May color:yellow from:0 till:5.20 text:5.20 shift:(-10,80) bar:Jun color:yellow from:0 till:5.24 text:5.24 shift:(-10,80) bar:Jul color:yellow from:0 till:5.34 text:5.34 shift:(-10,80) bar:Aug color:yellow from:0 till:5.30 text:5.30 shift:(-10,80) bar:Sep color:yellow from:0 till:4.93 text:4.93 shift:(-10,75) bar:Oct color:yellow from:0 till:4.46 text:4.46 shift:(-10,70) bar:Nov color:yellow from:0 till:3.15 text:3.15 shift:(-10,50) bar:Dec color:yellow from:0 till:2.37 text:2.37 shift:(-10,40) Source: NREL[9] |
| Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)[10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Capacity | Installed | % Change | |
| 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% | |