West Virginia says no to Biden's solar panel push: State's billionaire coal magnate governor vetoes renewable energy bill - claiming it would've 'put miners out of work'

West Virginia's governor has rejected a bill that would have expanded the use of solar energy to thousands of residents, saying it would hurt the state's coal industry.

Republican Jim Justice vetoed the HB 5228 bill, which was passed by the House and Senate, because it would 'endanger' the nation's energy security and put coal miners out of work.

The state hosts the second-largest coal industry in the nation and annually provides 84,000 tons of coal-fueled energy to the US.

While Justice may have his citizens in mind when be vetoed the bill, his family owns more than 100 coal mines in West Virginia and many are struggling to stay alive.

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice vetoed a bill to expand an existing solar energy farm, claiming it would cost consumers more than coal-fueled energy

The HB 5228 bill would have expanded West Virginia 's solar plants that fuel the state's electrical utilities from 50 megawatts (MW) to 100 MW, which would power 17,300 homes

The HB 5228 bill would have expanded West Virginia's solar plants that fuel the state's electrical utilities from 50 megawatts (MW) to 100 MW.

A 50 MW solar farm could generate enough electricity to power between 10,000 homes while 100 MW would increase the range to power 17,300 homes, according to MarketWatch.

Currently, coal-fired plants supply over 90 percent of electricity generation to citizens and businesses of West Virginia.

The six Republicans and three Democrats who sponsored the bill argued that by created a program to develop renewable energy would lead to a rise in economic development, increase jobs and lower electricity costs.

And the bill passed the House 61-36 and the Senate 32-1. 

Despite Justice's claims that solar energy will impact the working man and increase costs for West Virginians, the governor built his business empire on the coal industry, and state financial disclosures show his family owns more than 100 businesses.

However, his businesses are facing hard times and struggling to pay their bills, prompting a string of lawsuits that have ordered the Justice family's coal companies to stop mining activities.

Yet in his veto letter, Justice expressed concerns that passing the bill would raise energy costs for consumers and could 'further endanger our nation's energy security and put West Virginians at the mercy of the national power grid to ensure we keep the lights on at home,' Justice wrote in a letter announcing his decision.

Justice claimed that expanding renewable energy infrastructures in place of coal-fueled energy would encourage companies to turn to out-of-state alternatives that would raise the energy costs for consumers, although he did not specify how.

'The ripple effect of such drastic and rapid change could lead to West Virginians paying more on their power bills, as these entities try to pass their cost increases down the chain to the consumer,' he continued.

'It could also lead to job loss by putting coal mines and generating facilities out of business quickly.' 

While Justice appeared quick to shut down solar plant expansion, the governor moved forward with plans for an iron air battery factory in 2022. 

The state hosts the second-largest coal industry in the nation and annually provides 84,000 tons of coal-fueled energy to the US

Iron air batteries mix water, oxygen and iron to create more cost effective units - but have an efficiency of less than 50 percent.

Construction of the Form Energy plant in Weirton concluded last month, which was once a booming steel mill.

And last year, Justice approved Mountaineer GigaSystem and the Monarch Cloud Campus for data centers powered by net-zero hydrogen, which will be used for datacenters, greenhouses, transportation and steel production.

The project’s four-phase construction plan will provide substantial employment opportunities for the local workforce, with 800 full-time jobs and 4,200 construction workers when operations start in 2028.

Approving such initiatives has suggested that Justice is not against renewable energy, just those we believes could hurt his state. 

Justice called the bill 'well-intentioned,' but said it will 'further encourage these companies to drop coal-generated power and continue to turn toward more expensive options outside of West Virginia.'

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In May of last year, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the West Virginia governor and his son, James C. Justice III, for failing to pay more than $7.6 million in unpaid penalties and fees associated with federal mine and safety violations.

Speaking about bill HB 5528, Justice said at a press briefing: '... What I think is going on from the higher-ups that are incentivized to try to shove coal to the background, I don't like that. 

'Really and truly, I don't like the fact that what we're doing is maybe something that's going to lead to a higher energy cost for our consumers in West Virginia, our households here. I don't like that either.'

Dailymail.com has reached out to Gov. Jim Justice for comment. 

In the US, it costs about $36 to produce one MW per hour of electricity from a coal plant, while it costs about $24 to build enough solar panels to generate the same amount of electricity, according to the Energy News Network. 

A 2023 study revealed that it is 99 percent more expensive to run US coal plants than it would be to build a completely new solar energy farm. 

'Coal is unequivocally more expensive than wind and solar resources, it's just no longer cost competitive with renewables,' Michelle Solomon, a policy analyst at Energy Innovation, which undertook the analysis, told The Guardian. 

'This report certainly challenges the narrative that coal is here to stay.'

Air-fired coal plants are a leading source of particulate matter that causes air pollution and is linked to asthma, cancer, and heart and lung disease. 

The US Energy Information Administration estimated that coal-energy power plants account for about 20 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the US and nearly 60 percent of CO2 emissions worldwide.

Coal mines can also pollute groundwater from its coal ash storage in landfills that can seep into the water and have raised environmental concerns among advocates seeking to curb CO2 emissions.