West Virginia groups urge Gov. Morrisey, Attorney General McCuskey to defend WV’s Solar for All program award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2025
CONTACT
Dan Radmacher, dan@appvoices.org
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Today, a dozen West Virginia companies and organizations sent a letter to the offices of Gov. Patrick Morrisey and Attorney General J.B. McCuskey to call on them to push back on the Trump administration’s cancellation of a vital energy affordability program. The program, called Solar for All, was created in 2022 and it awarded $7 billion in funding to 60 entities in 2024. The West Virginia Office of Energy won a $106 million award in April 2024.
Recipients were required to create programs that would benefit rural and disadvantaged communities by giving them access to low-cost or free solar installations. It was expected to save the average household at least $400 a year in energy costs. Solar for All was also expected to support hundreds of thousands of jobs during the program’s five-year implementation, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
West Virginians interested in lowering their power bills were expected to be able to apply when the state’s program launched in 2026. Notably, the EPA obligated its funding in 2024 and states like West Virginia had already been using those funds for program planning. In the past, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has said that obligated funding should not be rescinded.
“The Solar for All program is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to cut energy costs for West Virginians, especially in rural and low-income communities that are too often left behind,” said West Virginians for Energy Freedom Coalition Coordinator Courtney MacDonald. “Rescinding these funds now, after they’ve already been awarded and put to use, would pull the rug out from under hardworking families and small businesses across the state.”
“There is widespread interest in West Virginia in solar at every level — homes, farms, churches, businesses — because it works, lowers energy costs and is sustainable,” said mtvSolar founder Mike McKechnie. “Solar for All funds make sure everyone has a chance to benefit from renewable energy for their family and their future. West Virginia officials need to stand with the people of our state and protect the funds that are being used today to build energy independence and reliability. Every day we see how solar changes things for the better for family homes, small businesses, non-profits and whole neighborhoods. Let Solar for All keep delivering on its promise.”
“West Virginia leaders had the foresight to apply for this funding in 2023, knowing the value that solar energy brings to the Mountain State,” said Appalachian Voices Government Affairs Specialist Quenton King. “The Office of Energy was actively working out how to set the program up for success and lower electricity prices for West Virginia households, and it would be a waste to throw away that work now. I hope that Gov. Morrisey and A.G. McCuskey work with the administration and our congressional delegation to restore the appropriated and obligated funding for this program.”
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About mtvSolar:
Since 2009, mtvSolar has been committed to making solar energy accessible and affordable to everyone in the region. Headquartered in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, mtvSolar installs solar and energy storage solutions in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania in partnership with the best equipment suppliers in the renewable energy industry
About Appalachian Voices
Founded in 1997, Appalachian Voices brings people together to protect the land, air and water of Central and Southern Appalachia and advance a just transition to a generative and equitable clean energy economy.
About West Virginians for Energy Freedom
West Virginians for Energy Freedom is a coalition of neighbors, community organizations, local businesses, municipalities, and elected officials advocating for energy freedom in West Virginia.
