To Say the State of West Virginia is a Political Operation is an Understatement
The WV Office of Energy is part of Economic Development not …. “Future Planning”
From an Article by Jarett Lewis, WV Metro News, July 15, 2023
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Office of Energy has its new director.
Governor Jim Justice announced Thursday that Nick Preservati has been hired as the new director of the agency which is under the West Virginia Department of Economic Development.
The West Virginia Office of Energy is responsible for the formulation and implementation of fossil, renewable and energy efficiency initiatives.
Justice said Preservati has over 25 years of experience in the energy industry as an executive, general counsel and litigator. He most recently served as the co-chair of Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC’s Energy & Environmental Practice Group.
His legal career began in Chicago, where Preservati worked for the Am Law 200 firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson. He then served as Regional Counsel for American Electric Power before starting his own boutique law firm in Charleston, West Virginia. He served as a managing member and general counsel for energy companies like CNP Properties, LLC, Met Resources, LLC and Onyx Energy, LLC.
Preservati obtained his Master of Science Degree in Energy Policy and Climate in 2021 from the Johns Hopkins University summa cum laude. In 1997, he received his Juris Doctorate Degree from the Loyola University School of Law – Chicago, and his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1994.
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See Also: Large-Scale Solar Projects on Former Surface Mine Lands in WV
Solar powers residences or single businesses in West Virginia. With no large-scale solar generation, the 2019 WV Legislature expanded opportunities for this technology, streamlining the permitting process for the state’s two investor-owned utilities. Recently, Appalachian Power Company, a unit of American Electric Power, released a proposal for solar projects within its southern West Virginia service area.
The WV Office of Energy, housed within the WV Development Office, along with Marshall University’s Center for Environmental, Geotechnical and Applied Sciences (CEGAS) and the Brownfields Assistance Center (BAC) identified and completed solar assessments on many former surface mines throughout the state.
The results of these assessments are available: Barrs Industries Solar Evaluation, Cassingham Solar Evaluation, Horse Creek Solar Evaluation, Kay Ford James Solar Evaluation, McDonald Land Company Solar Evaluation, Rock Creek Solar Evaluation, Marion Landfill AmBit Solar Evaluation, Morgantown Industrial Park Solar Evaluation, North Point Pleasant Industrial Park Solar Evaluation.