West Virginia, a state that continues to laud its role as an energy producer, hasn’t had an energy plan on the books for a decade, despite a state law requiring it.
Under state code, the Department of Economic Development’s Office of Energy must develop and submit a five-year energy plan to the governor and Legislature. The report is intended to set the state’s energy policies and direct the private sector. The office is required to submit a new plan six months before the previous plan is set to expire.
But under Gov. Jim Justice’s administration, no plans have been finalized. The office’s last report was completed in 2013, mapping out the energy plan through 2017. Although the Office of Energy held public hearings and received public comments and recommendations on the next iteration — 2018 to 2022 — no finalized report was ever published.
Christy Risch, senior research analyst for the Center for Business and Economic Research at Marshall University, said these types of plans are important for a state like West Virginia because they lay the groundwork for establishing state energy priorities.
“The purpose of these plans is to address policy and take stances on the broad categories of energy supply, energy use and energy production,” she said.
When asked about the missing energy plans, Office of Energy Director Nicholas Preservati said there were drafts but no finalized reports. The office is currently working on a draft for a new five-year plan, according to Preservati.
Behind a statewide energy plan
West Virginia has only created two five-year plans since the requirement was created in 2007 when the state also established the Office of Energy, which was called the Division of Energy at the time.
Such statewide energy plans aren’t unique; most other states also produce similar reports, which can “enable states to capitalize on existing energy resources, infrastructure, and human capital through targeted goals and directives to encourage economic development” and “set forward-thinking energy policies for the state,” according to the National Association of State Energy Officials.
In West Virginia, the five-year plans are also supposed to be accompanied by annual energy development plans, reports where the agency outlines its efforts to implement the state’s energy policy over the previous year as well as propose any legislation recommendations. While there hasn’t been a five-year plan in place since 2017, state energy officials have submitted annual plans to the Legislature every year since 2008 except for in 2018, 2022 and 2023.
Per state code, the energy plan must address a variety of topics, including energy efficiency, infrastructure, the development and production of new and existing energy sources and the implementation of renewable and technically innovative energy projects. The development process also must include public hearings and meetings to allow the public to provide input on the proposed energy policies and plans.
Because the Office of Energy is also charged with promoting collaboration between West Virginia’s colleges and universities, nonprofits and private companies, Risch was one of several people who helped the state agency with updates to the plan. She said she never received feedback on her 2017 submission, a report on renewable energy, which was supposed to be incorporated into the 2018 to 2022 plan.
“I’m not sure where they were going on that,” Risch said, noting that, at the time, she was waiting for feedback from the Office of Energy before finalizing her portion of the plan.
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Since West Virginia’s last energy plan, there have been significant developments in the industry, including new technologies that prompted the growth of renewable energy sources and investments in battery manufacturing and hydrogen production. This, Risch said, only further underscores the need for a state plan.
“It is important,” Risch said. “An energy plan will show that the state has been considering these issues and understands where they are.”
So far, the state has been able to attract a string of industry and economic development spurred by clean energy investments, including a battery plant in Weirton, the Nucor steel plant in Mason County and the recently-announced LG innovation center.
But even though the state has already begun to invest in several of the newer parts of the energy industry, a state energy plan is a way West Virginia can ensure it will maximize its investments, said Ann Eisenberg, director of the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development at West Virginia University.
“I think with these novel energy developments right now, there’s very much a Wild West environment throughout the whole country that is getting sort of directed and shaped by federal leadership, but now, states have this opportunity to be more intentional about it as well,” added Eisenberg.
And West Virginia’s unique role as an energy-producing state amid the rapidly developing and expanding energy sector could be in jeopardy. Without a statewide energy plan, the state could be at risk of falling behind other states, according to Risch.
The absence of an energy plan “shows the state has not put forward the effort to take positions” on newer developments in the energy sector, she said, noting that nuclear is one energy resource West Virginia could further utilize and invest in.
“Some things you don’t want to miss out on,” Risch added. “But you don’t want to be too early on things that don’t end up being helpful or that are very costly.”