With its vast coalfields, Southern West Virginia may seem like the last place on Earth that would start working on building a new economy around solar photovoltaics. But it’s happening this week.

Workers in Williamson, W.Va., will spend the better part of this week learning how to install and manage solar panels. The trainees will be paid $45 an hour, according to a press release about the event.

In coordination with The JOBS Project, Mountain View Solar and SolarWorld, the workers will install 11 kilowatts of solar power on the roof of the Williamson Fire Station. When it’s finished, it will be largest solar array in the state and will provide a significant amount of power to the fire station.

The town will host a special ribbon-cutting ceremony at the fire station on Thursday.

The JOBS Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing renewable energy careers to the Kentucky and West Virginia coalfields while keeping ownership in the hands of the communities where the projects are built.

"Let's be blunt,” said Eric Mathis, executive director of the JOBS Project. “This renewable-energy project isn't significant because of its size. It's significant because the mayor of Williamson, a town that welcomes visitors with the sign ‘the heart of the billion dollar coalfields,’ is the one doing the ribbon-cutting.

“The installation is being led by a West Virginia company using U.S.-made panels; local electricians are learning job skills while receiving $45 an hour. An area that has up to this point summarily rejected all things not coal opens up its arms, eyes and skies to a broader view of energy and its role in it. Plus, the groundwork is laid for hundreds of projects like it. That's what's significant."

Ben Santarris, a spokesman for SolarWorld, said he will attend the event. It will be his first-ever trip to West Virginia.

“We’re excited to see the energy center of the country embracing this renewable source,” he said.

He added that there are a lot of similarities between solar and coal power. Both are created from minerals mined from the earth; SolarWorld’s panels are manufactured using poly-silicon wafers. That silicon has to be mined just like coal does, he said.

“The only difference is that the silicon gets reused every day for at least 25 years,” he said.

Image courtesy of City-data.com.