Green energy in a coal state: the struggle to bring solar jobs to West Virginia

Local entrepreneurs want to replace disappearing coal jobs with employment in solar - but that's a tough move in a state that lacks the solar-friendly regulations of places like California

If solar energy were Dan Conant's only passion, the West Virginia native could have stayed in Vermont, working for a fast-growing startup in a state friendly to renewables.

Instead, Conant returned home to Shepherdstown, where he started an installation company, Solar Holler, in 2014. Now, with three employees and a crew under contract, Conant's new passion comes with an audacious goal: bring solar jobs to communities hit hard by the decline of coal.