In the heart of coal country, U.S. climate bill could push up green shoots

GreenPower Motor

12/08/2022 11:00

By Andy Sullivan and Rose  Horowitch
    Aug 12 (Reuters) - In West Virginia, a solar field could
soon rise atop an abandoned coal mine, and factories will soon
be churning out batteries and electric school buses. The
ambitious U.S. climate bill could push up more of these green
shoots, but analysts say King Coal will retain outsized clout in
the state.
    Advocates say the $430 billion package, expected to clear
Congress on Friday, could bring a tide of investment to one of
the nation's poorest states.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2ZK4FU
    "We've been growing exponentially for the last couple of
years and with this bill coming through it's going to get even
crazier," said Dan Conant, chief executive of Solar Holler, a
solar-system installer in the state.
    This week, the Senate passed the bill, shaped in large part
by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, and the
Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is expected to
approve it on Friday. President Joe Biden has promised to sign
it into law.  
    Its $369 billion in climate incentives include sweeteners
championed by Manchin that aim to steer green investments to
West Virginia and other regions that have depended on
fossil-fuel jobs and revenue. 
    The state's other senator, Republican Shelly Moore Capito,
voted against the bill, saying it would hurt the coal industry.
At least one of the three West Virginia House members, all
Republicans, will vote against it. Representative Alex Mooney is
running video ads saying he won't let Manchin "devastate West
Virginia." 
    Their concern is warranted. West Virginia's coal industry is
already in retreat, as electric  utilities have shifted to
natural gas and other cheaper and less carbon-intensive fuels.  
 Analysts said the bill will encourage utilities to build more
renewable facilities and shut down coal plants. 
    "While this shift is not necessarily new ... the legislation
serves to further accelerate it," Moody's wrote in a research
note. 
    Coal accounted for 19% of U.S. energy generation last year,
down from 45% in 2010, according to the U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA). In West Virginia, the industry is no
longer a jobs powerhouse, employing only 11,000 workers in 2021,
down from 146,000 in 1948, according to state figures.
    But coal still generates 91% of the electricity in West
Virginia, one of the highest percentages in the country. The
state's governor, Republican Jim Justice, owns several coal
companies and many other officials, including Manchin, have ties
to the industry. West Virginia also led a successful legal
challenge that undercut the federal government's authority to
regulate greenhouse gases.
    As utilities have shuttered coal-fired power plants
elsewhere, West Virginia regulators last year signed off on
expensive upgrades to allow three big coal plants to keep
operating until at least 2040. State residents will shoulder the
cost through higher electricity bills. 
    Decisions like that could hinder the climate bill's
effectiveness and undercut the Biden administration's goals of
cutting U.S. climate emissions in half from 2005 levels by 2030,
said James Van Nostrand, head of the Center for Energy and
Sustainable Development at West Virginia University.
    "You have to have policies at the state level that ... take
advantage of that, and it's just not there," he said.
    Still, the Republican-controlled state legislature has
passed several incentives for solar power in recent years,
spurred in part by large employers that have demanded access to
clean energy.
    While the state only had 10 megawatts of solar capacity in
place in 2020, enough to power roughly 1,300 homes, there are
now more than 4,000 megawatts of solar projects waiting for
approval, according to Evan Hansen, a Democratic member of the
state House of Delegates.
    "Some good things are happening, but it's happening at a
slower pace than most states," he said.
    The state government has also offered incentives to lure
companies like electric-school bus manufacturer GreenPower,
which plans to employ 200 people in South Charleston.
    GreenPower Motor Co Inc  GPV.V  President Brendan Riley said
his company does not pose a threat to coal interests because all
types of fuel will be needed to power battery charging stations
for his vehicles.
    "We're not anti-coal or anti-fossil fuel electricity," he
said.
    Advocates said they expect support for clean energy and
green-tech companies to grow as they employ more people in the
state.
    "I'm really excited for what this is going to do for the
small towns and hollers across the state," said Solar Holler CEO
Conant.

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
FACTBOX-U.S. climate deal has money for EVs, clean energy and
even Big Oil     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2ZK4FU
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Reporting by Andy Sullivan in Cape Elizabeth, Maine and Rose
Horowitch in Washington; editing by Scott Malone and David
Gregorio)
 ((andy.sullivan@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 421 5603;))