An overgrown sign outside the shuttered Killen Station power plant in Manchester, Ohio.
More coal plant capacity disappeared during Trump’s first two years in office than during President Barack Obama’s entire first term, and the closures are set to continue in 2019 and beyond. But long before that happened, local officials and union workers in Adams County scrambled to salvage them. Ty Pell, president of the county commissioners, traveled to the state capital, as well as to Washington, to seek help from Ohio’s elected officials and from Vice President Pence.
In the months since last year’s closures, workers fled for jobs in Wyoming, Florida, Washington, Idaho, Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon and elsewhere. The local school system has seen enrollment plunge and has cut positions to make up for budget shortfalls. “It’s been the worst year,” said Kirschner, who worked at the Killen Station for 37 years. “That plant had been my whole life.”
Last year’s coal plant retirements were the second-largest ever in terms of capacity. Companies have announced that they intend to close at least 10 more coal plants by the end of this year and many more by 2030.Natural gas for years has offered a cleaner, cheaper alternative to coal. Renewable energy from wind and solar is more affordable than ever.
AEP, which owned a portion of the Stuart plant, has shaved coal usage from about 70 percent of its power generation in 2005 to 47 percent today. And it plans to idle two units at a Conesville, Ohio, plant in May and another unit there in 2020. AES, through its Dayton Power & Light subsidiary, agreed when it shut down the southern Ohio plants to spend $2 million on workforce development and job training in the area. Initially, according to the Sierra Club, the plants’ owners also agreed to develop at least 300 megawatts of solar and wind projects in Ohio, but that plan did not materialize.
County leaders trimmed the budget by 15 percent in 2017 and another 5 percent in 2018. Ty Pell worries about the shrinking tax base, and no one has much appetite for asking local residents to make up the shortfall.
We'll u ppl wanted trump, an y'all got him so don't start crying now. 🤔🤔🤔
AntiTrumpReport These ppl need to evolve with their field + continue their education like all other professionals. Poor me, poor me doesn't pay the bills. Society needs to keep it moving forward.
If the miners had voted for Hillary she intended to re train miners, oh snap.
They wouldn't be reeling if 1) they didn't cling to the past and refuse to learn new things and 2) our government cared enough to offer retraining to the few smart ones that would accept it.
Get these people jobs, Rump. Your economy is sooo good.
Thoughts and prayers
The march of time. What do you think happened to all the lamplighters when the U.S. switched to electricity?
People identify as miners. It's not easy to change identity. The best solution could be just to support mines who agree to a hiring freeze, and put in some federally funded tech schools in those areas. Train the younger generation to be green instead of supporting coal forever.
It kills a lot of jobs and the future prospective of an entire community
Workers die in the mines. Give them jobs in clean energy industry. The Green Deal is to make sure these people don't get left behind. It's unrealistic to think these mining jobs are coming back. We need a leader that works with these communities, not tell them lies. VoteBlue2020
I suppose that that is why it is urgent to find other forms of energy. People suffer when there is a transition and there are no easy solution. Coal mines in one place, auto plants shutting down elsewhere. problems, problems. Solutions?
Move on!! OMG... i’ve had to change careers 3x because times change! We evolve, we adapt! We used to use to have horse-drawn carriages....We used to have phone operators for Christ sake... Why did these people think they should be immune to changing time
Let's share all the news. How many coal mines have been reopened in the past two years? WaPo - The very best at bias news!
I thought Trump promised to bring back coal? Was that just a huge lie? Nah, couldn’t have been.
Well if they would have voted for Hillary Clinton she would have spent funds on educating those people & getting them ready for the green jobs on the future. Keep in mind some coal barons told their workers they HAD to vote for Trump or they would close. They still closed.
Our government offers retraining in clean energy for coal workers - they refuse the classes. They'd rather sit home, living off welfare or disability, waiting for the coal jobs to come back. They're not disadvantaged, they're lazy welfare queens.
Someone should come up with a broad framework of climate policy principals that includes help for communities like this in their economic transition away from coal. If only someone would come up with that...¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
And what happens when the WH decries climate change and actively undermines and opposes the development of sustainable clean energy sources and technology.
Change happens. Wagon makers moved on to auto plants.
Dream Academy