Southwest Virginia Sunshine
On May 9, Appalachian Voices was proud to co-host the Southwest Virginia Solar Fair. Together with our partners in the Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia, we brought community members and industry leaders together to highlight how a clean energy future could also bring jobs to our region.
Our Southwest Virginia Solar VISTA Lydia Graves rallies the crowd at the Solar Fair.
Attendees enjoyed hands-on demonstrations of solar projects, fresh asparagus and popcorn cooked by the sun, and live music courtesy of the Empty Bottle String Band.
The day also saw the launch of Solarize Wise, a program to help make solar installations easier and more affordable for homeowners, businesses and farmers in Wise County.
Appalachian Voices also awarded two $500 grants to local high school teams who developed Solar in Your School project proposals. The Eastside High School Ecology Club from Coeburn, Va., submitted a plan to build a solar phone charger and received approval for installation from their school board. Ridgeview High School’s robotics team from Clintwood, Va., plans to create a solar powered robot to help educate their peers and community about solar energy.
The Solar Fair and the 2017 Southwest Virginia Economic Forum at UVa-Wise the following day served as an opportunity to showcase the progress made on more sizable projects in Southwest Virginia. As members of the Solar Workgroup, we are also working on a handbook for actionable steps toward solar economic development in far Southwest Virginia.
Related Articles
Latest News
More Stories
Ridgeline Pipeline Construction Impacts in Rural East Tennessee
Neighbors share about noise, unpredictable construction schedules and other disruptions due to methane gas pipeline construction in East Tennessee. The 122-mile Ridgeline Expansion Project, constructed and owned by East Tennessee Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Enbridge, a multibillion-dollar Canadian fossil fuel company, was approved to go into service Nov. 1.
Neighbors Help Neighbors
A photo essay that celebrates the volunteer spirit of the grassroots group Hurricane Helene WNC and speaks to the resourcefulness, collaboration and hard work embodied by thousands and thousands of volunteers, first responders and aid workers across the region after Hurricane Helene.
Halloween Approaches, and Night School Is in Session
The House of Art in Bluefield, West Virginia, looks like a haunted tower, making it the perfect location for its sixth annual haunt event: Night School. The Night School will be open every Friday and Saturday night through Oct. 31.
‘The Most Perfect Act of Love’
Hundreds of people attended the second annual Affirming Sumner Pride celebration on a 24-acre farm dubbed “Fruity Farm” in Bethpage, Sumner County, Tennessee.
Signs of Life: Endangered Bats Found in Nantahala for First Time in More Than a Decade
In the Nantahala National Forest, a team of biologists spotted Indiana bats, an endangered species that hasn’t been seen in North Carolina for the last 11 years.
‘First Line of Defense’
During Hurricane Helene and its aftermath, rural fire departments and other first responder hubs played critical roles in keeping their communities safe, even without power and cut off from outside support for days or weeks after the storm. Two years later, plenty of work remains to ensure these hubs have the resources they need to operate day to day and be ready when emergencies or natural disasters strike.
Leave a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Leave a Comment