Solar flowers capture attention along the Kanawha River at Buffalo

BUFFALO, W.Va. — An array of five giant "solar flowers" is capturing the attention of motorists travelling scenic Charleston Road along the Kanawha River. What are they?

The curiosities are not only capturing interest—they might be hallmarks of a new, more environmentally friendly West Virginia.

Turning toward the sun like real sunflowers, the SmartFlowers are powering employee-services buildings at the Toyota West Virginia facility. Its popular uniform store, footwear store, credit union, clinic, and pharmacy are all energized by solar power, which also helps power three EV charging stations on the Toyota campus.

David Rosier, president of Toyota West Virginia, said the array is also symbolic of his company's commitment to sustainable energy.

“This is just one more way Toyota West Virginia is embracing alternative energy and reducing our ecological footprint here in the Mountain State,” Rosier said. “Our environmental team is always working to make our plant more efficient and guiding our efforts to create a more sustainable future.”

Much like a sunflower, Rosier said, SmartFlowers bloom at sunrise and follow the sun’s path throughout the day, allowing them to effectively capture the sun’s rays. Because they maintain a 90-degree angle to the sun, the power they produce is optimized over that of traditional solar panels.

At sunset, they fold back up and await sunrise the following morning. The petals are self-cleaning, lined with tiny brushes that remove dirt and debris when they open and close.

While the flowers are beautiful and highly visible, they're also only a part of the largest solar array system in the state, much of which is located just behind the plant. The Toyota array can generate 2.6 megawatts of power—enough to power more than 400 homes.

The solar generation also reduces the Buffalo plant’s C02 emissions by an estimated four million pounds per year, Rosier said.

The solar initiatives are some of the many projects aimed at helping Toyota West Virginia meet the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050.

Toyota West Virginia was also recently named the winner of the Wildlife Habitat Council’s Ibis Award. This award recognizes a Wildlife Habitat Council-certified program that has “demonstrated resiliency of spirit and advancement of conservation despite unforeseen or unique challenges.”

The group specifically cited the plant’s nature trail, which features forest and wetland habitats, a pollinator garden, an outdoor classroom, bird houses, bat houses, and a nesting platform to support avian species in the area. Find out more about the trail system here.

The nature trail and the outdoor classroom are open to the public. Toyota has invested more than $10 million in the community surrounding the scenic Kanawha River, supporting a wide range of philanthropic initiatives.

Solar power slowly blooms in West Virginia

For more than a century, West Virginia's energy story has been dominated by coal, though a quiet transformation has been underway as solar power begins to take root across the Mountain State.

Once among the last states in the nation for installed solar capacity, West Virginia has recently seen a surge in both utility-scale and corporate solar projects. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the state has surpassed 200 megawatts of installed capacity as of 2024—a significant leap from just 30 megawatts a few years prior.

High-profile projects are leading the way. Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia operates the state’s largest solar array, generating 2.6 megawatts—enough to power 400 homes—while cutting 4 million pounds of CO₂ annually. FirstEnergy’s Mon Power subsidiary has launched multiple solar farms in Monongalia and Berkeley counties, converting former coal ash landfills into clean energy hubs.

Federal infrastructure funding, state net-metering laws, and corporate sustainability commitments are pushing this shift forward. While solar still supplies only a fraction of West Virginia’s power, advocates say its growth represents a turning point: a new energy landscape where sunshine, not just coal, helps keep the lights on.