Blog Archives

Reliance on fossil fuels was last year’s Grinch that stole Christmas — and the real cause of Winter Storm Elliot blackouts

On Dec. 24, 2022, as Winter Storm Elliot bore down on North Carolina and Tennessee, problems at fossil-fuel power plants and high electricity demand led Duke Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority to shut off power for millions with rolling blackouts. But it didn’t have to be this way.

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Solar Apprenticeship Program Benefits Southwest Virginia

A young man in a blue jacket stands between two older men wearing gray t-shirts. the roof of the brick building behind them is covered in solar panels.

A youth solar apprenticeship program is changing lives and accelerating the switch to green energy in Southwest Virginia.

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Castle in the Sun

“Kids look at it, and they see a castle,” says Scott Miller, executive director of Just For Kids Advocacy Center, of the nonprofit organization’s new Beckley, West Virginia, headquarters. That castle is now solar-powered by a 14-panel ground array, which was unveiled in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 25.

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What Can the New Clean Energy Programs Do For You?

Our guide breaks down what the new clean energy programs can do for your home, business and community.

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Carbon plan must account for affordability

The organizations’ testimony focused on how Duke’s proposed fracked gas expansion would unnecessarily increase costs for customers, while cleaner, lower-cost options like solar, battery storage and energy efficiency could completely offset the need to build new fracked gas infrastructure in the near term.

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Solar Panels on Southwest Virginia Schools Signal a Diversifying Economy

A project manager in a neon vest and construction hat kneels atop the roof of the St. Paul school..

School solar projects demonstrate how Virginia’s coalfield counties are diversifying their economies and energy options with solar power.

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Planning ahead for a bright future in Virginia

This Sun Tribe Solar project utilizes native plantings, which provide pollinator habitat and reduce erosion. By creating a cooler microclimate, native plantings can even increase the efficiency of the panels! Photo by Sun Tribe Solar

Solar is essential to meeting urgent emissions reduction goals, but concerns about smart land use and the community and environmental impacts of large-scale solar don’t have easy answers.

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Boone residents and students celebrate a win in the fight for solar energy!

Solar panels on a private home, photo courtesy of Pete Beverly/NREL

The community of Boone, North Carolina, celebrated a small victory when the local utility, New River Light and Power, announced in March it would rescind its proposed annual $99 fee for solar customers!

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House vote gives Senate an opportunity to spur clean energy investments in Appalachia

CONTACT: Molly Moore, Appalachian Voices Communications, (847) 401-3633, molly@appvoices.org Dana Kuhnline, Legislative Coordinator, (304) 825-3262, dana@appvoices.org Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, a bill that, if passed by the U.S. Senate, will deliver significant

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Groups file complaint that Duke Energy rigged net metering process to push plan to undermine rooftop solar power in NC

A solar installation photo by NREL

CONTACT: Rory McIlmoil, 423-433-9415, rory@appvoices.org Jim Warren, 919-416-5077, jim@ncwarn.org Durham, NC – Two clean energy groups today filed a complaint with state regulators about a stakeholder process they say was rigged to favor a Duke Energy scheme that would harm

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