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WEST VIRGINIA CLIMATE CHANGE INDEX

Information included in the West Virginia Climate Change Index is drawn from public sources such as government websites, news articles and other public databases.

CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY

  • Number of energy efficiency jobs in West Virginia: over 6,500
  • Number of energy efficiency businesses in West Virginia: over 650
  • Number of solar jobs in West Virginia: over 300
  • Number of homes that could be powered by solar production in West Virginia: over 700
  • Number of solar businesses in West Virginia: 19
  • Number of West Virginians working in clean energy transmission, distribution and storage: nearly 11,000
  • Number of jobs supported by wind energy in West Virginia: up to 1,000
  • Number of wind turbines in West Virginia: 376
  • Number of megawatts of wind capacity installed in West Virginia: 686
  • Number of homes that could have been powered by wind generation in West Virginia in 2019: over 159,000
  • Number of gallons of water consumption saved by West Virginia wind power generation in 2019: 1.5 billion
  • Number of metric tons of CO2 emissions saved by West Virginia wind power generation in 2019: 2.4 million 

EXTREME WEATHER IMPACTS 

  • Number of extreme weather events that caused over $1 billion in economic losses in West Virginia from 2007-2016: 7
  • Number of people killed by extreme weather in West Virginia in 2017: 2
  • Number of acres consumed by wildfires in 2018 in West Virginia: over 6,000

PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH

  • Percentage of West Virginians that believe climate change was happening in 2018: 59%
  • Percentage of West Virginians that believe climate changes caused mostly by human activities in 2018: 44%
  • Percentage of West Virginians worried about climate change: 47%
  • Percentage of West Virginians who support setting carbon pollution limits on existing coal-fired power plants: 53%