ICYMI: Washington Times: Appalachian Communities Embrace Solar Projects as Path to Revitalization, Despite Trump’s Efforts to Kill it

Washington, D.C. – Earlier this month, the Washington Times reported on a community in Appalachia, Hazard, Kentucky, that is preparing to build one of the nation’s largest solar projects at the site of a former surface mine that once produced 3 million tons of coal a year. The project, along with two others from the same developer, will pump more than $1 billion into a region that has the nation’s highest poverty rates and is getting hit hard by the Republican Rate Hike passed earlier this summer. 

Washington Times: ‘We’ve paid our dues’: Appalachians look to new solar projects to replace old king coal

Hazard, the Perry County seat near the site, has a poverty rate of 32.6% and a median household income more than $8,000 below the national average. The unemployment rate for the state of Kentucky was 4.9% in June, compared to the U.S. rate of 4.2%…

The two new projects, are located in the PJM energy market jurisdiction, the largest power grid operator in America. When completed, they’ll help provide power to 13 states and the District of Columbia…

His projects, however, are just getting in under the gun to qualify for federal tax credits. President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” signed into law this summer, phases out renewable energy tax credits and repeals key elements of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act…

But industry leaders and clean energy advocates warn the rollback could stall or reverse progress in hard-hit regions like Appalachia, where renewable investment had offered a rare bright spot in the post-coal economy.

“This [Big Beautiful Bill] makes absolutely no sense from the standpoint of helping to achieve American dominance and energy independence. It just … it does just the opposite,” said Anthony Smith, CEO of Secure Solar Futures (SSS) in Virginia, a solar development firm working to power schools and public institutions while building a skilled Appalachian workforce…

Utilities companies, he said, are virtual monopolies in these underserved regions, where competition is scarce. Poverty rates in some counties remain more than double the national average, and median household incomes often fall below $40,000, per multi-state data.

Meanwhile, residents in parts of central Appalachia spend more than 15% of their income on energy — more than double the national average of 6%, according to a 2023 report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Advocacy group Appalachian Voices says families in many persistent‑poverty counties will spend 40 to 50% of their monthly income on utilities.

Solar then could change lives, Mr. Conant said. But under the One Big Beautiful Bill, residential solar and efficiency credits will expire at the end of 2025 with no phase-out period…

“This isn’t political to the people here,” Mr. Edelen said. “They’re not debating green versus fossil. They’re asking, ‘Do I have a job? Can I stay here?’”

And for many Appalachians, solar isn’t just about energy. It’s about the dignity of a place. 

“We’ve powered the rest of the country for the last 50 years,” Mr. Conant said. “Just because the source of energy is changing doesn’t mean we should be left out now.”