Kentucky is transitioning beyond coal on a renewable energy future

[Shadows]

In the heart of coal country, state officials bet on renewable energy

Kentucky's coal jobs have dropped to their lowest totals since 1898. When Kiran Bhatraju, a native of Pikeville, Kentucky, and the CEO of renewable-energy company Arcadia Power, heard that a coal company would be converting an old strip mine into a solar farm, he expected huge backlash. But his community's reaction was the opposite. "The mayor, local politicians and people in coal country are ready and excited about new jobs in the renewables industry," Bhatraju said. "The entire community has been rallying behind the project because it will retrain and put miners back to work."

At one point more than 90 percent of the electric power provided by EKPC was coal-fired. Last year that number was down to about 70 percent, and today the cooperative is in the process of installing a 33,000-panel solar field on its property. Berkeley Energy Group, the coal company that Bhatraju referenced, announced their plans to build the state's largest solar farm in April, claiming that it would generate jobs for displaced coal workers. That same month, the Kentucky Coal Museum had 80 solar panels installed on its roof as a cost-saving measure. The museum's owner expects to save between $8,000 and $10,000 a year. Eight out of Kentucky's 20 coal plants have been retired or converted to natural gas units since 2012.

Hower and his university colleagues, for example, have partnered with the Department of Energy in the research of "rare earth elements," a group of 17 metals that are vital in the production of smartphones, wind turbines, solar panels and dozens of other modern-day technologies. REEs, which include metals like scandium, yttrium and neodymium, are said to make up a $7 trillion global market, while supporting $500 billion to $600 billion in other industries. The United States imports 90 percent of its REEs from China, which holds a near monopoly over the market. "REEs can make Kentucky a player," Hower said. "You're not going to displace the entire range of imports from China, but if you could make a dent in it, that can go a long way."

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/18/post-coal-country-kentucky-bets-on-renewable-energy-metals-mining.html?utm_content=buffer27637&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[Santander]

Americans play checkers. Europeans play chess. China plays Go.

As Chinese leaders say, "You have the watches, we have the time."

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

It's difficult, because nobody wants to have a Thatcher reputation, which is what Dems currently have in coal country.

[ProudModerate2]

Now how many years/decades has it taken for them to finally See The Light ?
It's just like someone who refuses to transition to DVD's, and insists on keeping their VCR (remember those ?).

[emailking]

Now how many years/decades has it taken for them to finally See The Light ?
It's just like someone who refuses to transition to DVD's, and insists on keeping their VCR (remember those ?).

I insist on keeping my VCR. I also have a UHD player, but it can't play VHS. So I have to keep the VCR.

[TheSaint250]

Good

[Person Man]

Maybe there is a sort of silent revolution going on that will solve a lot of our environmental and energy issues.

[KingSweden]

Excellent

[OSR stands with Israel]

It's difficult, because nobody wants to have a Thatcher reputation, which is what Dems currently have in coal country.

I find it funny the left accuses the GOP to be too friendly with coal, yet hate Thatcher policies on coal

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Great news!!!!

[Yank2133]

Good.

They should have started doing this years ago.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

It's difficult, because nobody wants to have a Thatcher reputation, which is what Dems currently have in coal country.

I find it funny the left accuses the GOP to be too friendly with coal, yet hate Thatcher policies on coal

It is actually pretty amusing/confusing as a British left-winger to see the space of coal in the US political discourse.

[Goldwater]

It's difficult, because nobody wants to have a Thatcher reputation, which is what Dems currently have in coal country.

I find it funny the left accuses the GOP to be too friendly with coal, yet hate Thatcher policies on coal

It is actually pretty amusing/confusing as a British left-winger to see the space of coal in the US political discourse.

And vice-versa, I'm sure.