Solar powers his home, cars, mowers, power tools… everything!

 By Ron Freund: Electric Auto Association Board Member 

President Emeritus of the West Virginia Electric Auto Association (WVEAA) Larry Harris maintains 38 solar panels on the roof of his Poca, West Virginia, home that produce a total of 53,000 watt-hours on a clear, sunny day.  

According to a recent write-up in the Charleston Gazette-Mail that's enough wattage to energize Harris’s home, his Tesla, and his daughter’s Chevrolet Volt, as well as his electric riding mower, Cricket golf cart, walk-behind mower, ebike, chain saw, string trimmer, hedge clippers, leaf blower, reciprocating saws, and other power tools.

Harris became one of the first West Virginians to drive electric when he purchased a Miles Electrical Vehicle in 2007. He co-founded the Appalachian Alternative Energy Association, an organization that later became the WVEAA, a chapter of the national Electric Auto Association. 

In addition to promoting electric vehicles in West Virginia, which has included giving more test drives than he can even remember,  Harris has driven his Tesla to Austin, Texas, and makes regular trips to his hometown of Grassy Meadows, West Virginia.