For a long time, Breana Bowen was searching for a loophole. She had been approached by a colleague, Kristy Browning, with an idea for an ambitious project to save the county’s libraries millions of dollars. As executive director of Cabell County Library System, part of Bowen’s responsibility is to make sure the libraries are using resources effectively. 

She sat in meetings and wondered if there was some sort of “catch” in the funding proposal that would allow the county to add solar installations to every branch in West Virginia’s Cabell County Library System.

The proposal was the only way the library system could feasibly install solar panels. The county had recently finished construction on a new library branch and the project required donations, grant money, and a bond to pay for completion. The nonprofit library system was operating under tremendous financial stress. 

“It’s terrifying when you see and read how much electric costs are supposed to go up,” said Bowen. “How do you maintain whatever you’re already working on with a stretched-thin budget?” 

Bowen understood the value of solar, which made her all that more receptive to Browning’s suggestion, which was inspired by a conversation with Solar Holler. The library system’s newest branch in Barboursville included solar panels as part of its construction plan. That branch also happens to be the only building in the state running on geothermal power.

“It’s the biggest branch library in our system and it has the cheapest electric bill,” said Bowen. “We are able to say, ‘Look at these savings.’ Every dollar we get, we pour back into the community.”

Solar Holler, a solar installation company serving Appalachian communities, has managed several solar panel installations across the region. Many of their customers had paid for solar through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).  They informed Bowen about the benefits their customers saw with solar and the power-purchase agreement option offered by the local utility. A power purchase agreement (PPA) is a long-term contract between a buyer and a seller for the purchase of electricity. PPAs offer buyers benefits though energy cost savings. 

With the savings from the PPA and federal REAP grants, the library system was able to move forward with the solar installation. REAP received funding from the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden. 

For Bowen in Cabell County, there was just one remaining hurdle. The roof on the system’s main building needed $34,000 in repairs to make sure it could reliably support the installation. The Appalachian Solar Fund, an economic development organization offering financial and technical assistance to Central Appalachia, worked with the library to secure a grant to cover the costs of the roof repairs.

The REAP grant, which pays for a portion of the installation costs of the system, is a federal grant that was most recently expanded by the Inflation Reduction Act — passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021. 

The total cost for all three systems combined was about $128,000. Lindquist said he expects to have that entire investment paid off by the end of 2024, which aligns with the timeline he anticipated when he began this journey in 2017.

It all began with selling off his cows, reinvesting that money in solar, and renting out their dairy facilities and farmland to outside operators. The renters continued the dairy operation until early 2023, when repair costs for a silo didn’t seem worth the investment. And those same renters continue to farm the land to this day.

“They’re just doing the crops now. The milking part of the operation is no longer being utilized,” Lindquist said. “That being said, we were able to capture depreciation on the cost. So, it all worked out.”

Dairies have a lot of moving parts. From milking machines to pasteurizers to chillers, dairy farms create a high demand for electricity. Once Lindquist introduced solar arrays into the operation, the farm experienced a 69% annual reduction in electricity costs. 

“It was the perfect storm in a good kind of way,” said Bowen. I can’t say enough how grateful I am. We wouldn’t have been able to afford solar panels without everyone working together. “I’m so excited and can’t wait to go solar.”

The library system, which serves about 90,000 individuals across its eight branches in Cabell County, is expected to bring four solar installations online by the end of 2024. The remaining branches should receive their solar installations in 2025. The savings, Bowen said, will be felt across the entire system. Estimates indicate 853 panels across the seven branches will save the county $1.2 million over 25 years. 

“Every dollar we save, we can put back into the community, whether it’s books or an outreach program for the elderly,” Bowen said. “The cost-saving measures are wonderful, but to know you’re doing something good for the environment and the earth is also good, too. It’s a win-win.”

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed by the 117th Congress and signed by President Joe Biden, is a piece of federal legislation that aims to reduce inflation by lowering the cost of prescription medications, investing in domestic energy production, and promoting clean energy, among other objectives.