Marlinton, West Virginia — Agnes Doyle-Kalland is a forward-thinking kind of person. She and her son, John had been considering renewable energy for years, so when they learned Solar Holler would be in Marlinton to give a presentation, they decided to check it out. They liked what they heard and they were encouraged that it actually seemed achievable, “We were off and running after that. We couldn’t wait to talk to you!”
Agnes is a longtime member of her Presbyterian church and it delighted her to learn that our first ever installation was on a Presbyterian church in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. For Agnes, sunshine is high on her list of things to be grateful for, “I like getting my power straight from God. I always tell folks, we don’t go through the middleman digging it up after millions of years underground, we get it straight from God, the way it was meant to be.”
It certainly doesn’t hurt that her solar array also happens to save her money!
When discussing the affordability of solar, Agnes finds it a little confusing when she hears folks say that solar is too expensive for them. Especially when she considers that they’re already paying for electricity. She related it to a car payment, except that unlike a car that will diminish in value, her solar array actually adds value to her home and produces a needed resource — the electricity she uses! “When a car is long gone and paid off, my solar panels will still be making electricity for me.”
“I like getting my power straight from God. I always tell folks, we don’t go through the middleman digging it up after millions of years underground, we get it straight from God, the way it was meant to be.”
Like many of our clients, Agnes gets a kick out of monitoring the production of her system and she loves to watch her solar credits rack up. She likes to joke with folks, “You might have a stock portfolio that’s working for you, but I have a house that’s working for me!”
“You might have a stock portfolio that’s working for you, but I have a house that’s working for me!”
A socially conscious woman, Agnes feels it’s important to leave a place better than she found it. She shared a conversation she had with a former boss when she told him about some trees she had recently planted, “He said, ‘You know, not everybody plants trees. You have to actually care about tomorrow to plant a tree.’” She thinks of her solar panels in a similar way, “You put solar on your house for your grandbabies and your descendants. I may never get a walnut from the walnut trees I planted, but somebody will.”
“Solar Holler is going about this in the right way and looking at the big picture. I tell people that these are coal kids doing this work. This is what alternative power is all about.”
It’s that kind of spirit that made Agnes want to work with a local, mission-focused company like Solar Holler. When she learned about our commitment to growing job opportunities in central Appalachia, it tugged on her heart strings, “Solar Holler is going about this in the right way and looking at the big picture. I tell people that these are coal kids doing this work. This is what alternative power is all about.”
