“ In the residential sector, electricity use has nearly doubled since 1973 due to increased air conditioning and the use of consumer electronic devices,” says Eriks Brolis, director of economic development and strategic initiatives for The Nature Conservancy( TNC).“ The commercial sector’ s rise in energy consumption is driven by the expansion of buildings and electronic devices, yet advancements in energy-efficient technologies have helped mitigate this increase to some extent. The industrial sector’ s increase in energy use is largely due to higher production in energy-intensive industries.”
Nicholas Preservati, deputy secretary for the West Virginia Department of Commerce, provides insight into the factors shaping the state’ s energy landscape.
“ West Virginia is one of the nation’ s largest energy producers, and the generation that is most dominant, coal and gas, is an energy-intensive industry,” he says.“ West Virginia is also home to a lot of mining and manufacturing companies that tend to consume more energy.”
According to the Energy Information Administration( EIA), total energy consumption per capita in West Virginia increased between 1982 and 2022. Residential energy use rose by 27.6 %, commercial consumption by 62.4 % and industrial energy by 21.5 %. However, the industrial sector experienced a significant drop during the 2008 – 2009
U. S. PRIMARY ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY ENERGY SOURCE, 2023
Total = 93.59 quadrillion British thermal units
Petroleum 38 %
Nuclear Electric Power 9 %
Natural Gas 36 %
Coal 9 %
Renewable Energy 9 %
WEST VIRGINIA ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY END-USE SECTOR, 2022
23.1 %
45.6 %
recession, taking nearly a decade to recover.
“ Compared to national trends, West Virginia consumed 64.9 % more energy per capita in 2022,” Preservati says.“ Factors that influence this are lowerthan-average population density, aging infrastructure that is less energy-efficient and a greater reliance on self-transportation rather than public transit.”
West Virginia remains a coal-dominant state, with 85.6 % of its electricity generated from coal-fired power plants. This has played a crucial role in ensuring grid reliability, particularly during extreme weather events.
“ There are two types of energy generation, intermittent and baseload,”
1 %- geothermal 11 %- solar
10 %- hydroelectric
18 %- wind 5 %- biomass waste
32 %- biofuels
23 %- wood
Data source: U. S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, Table 1.3 and 10.1, April 2024, preliminary data Note: Sum of components may not equal 100 % because of independent rounding.
Total = 8.24 quadrillion British thermal units biomass 60 %
18.4 %
12.9 %
Residential Commercial Industrial Transportation
Source: Energy lnformation Administration, State Energy Data System
Preservati says.“ Coal is a baseload source, meaning it operates continuously regardless of conditions. That’ s critical during peak demand periods, like heat waves or winter storms.”
Despite the state’ s relatively low electricity prices— ranking 14th cheapest in the nation in 2023— West Virginians face challenges due to rising energy demand and aging infrastructure.
“ According to the EIA, since 2008, West Virginia’ s net electricity generation has decreased by about 2 % each year, while national demand plateaued in 2005,” Preservati says.“ U. S. net generation has only increased by 0.10 % each year.”
Preservati explains that this trend is predicted to change in the next couple of years with the construction of numerous data centers as a result of rapid artificial intelligence( AI) development.
“ Many of these data centers are being constructed in PJM Interconnection, West Virginia’ s regional transmission organization, which may strain utilities and drive prices up,” he says.
While coal remains a dominant energy source, renewable resources are making slow but steady progress in the Mountain State. Wind energy now contributes 3.69 % of the state’ s electricity, while hydroelectric power accounts for almost 2 %. Solar energy is developing at a slower pace, with only two utility-scale solar sites operating as of late 2024.
Brolis says policy and regulatory changes, such as incentives for clean energy and carbon pricing, will further
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE