Mountain-top removal coal mining is obliterating vast swaths of Appalachia
in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia - image credit: The Sierra Club

The Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear, recently released a new energy plan that serves as a starting point for renewable energy discussion in the state.

Kentucky needs this discussion as it’s history as a coal-producing state makes it vulnerable in a clean energy future. Allied to the fact that the current mountain-top removal method of mining is destroying huge swathes of what was once unspoilt wilderness.

Coal and old coal-fired power plants have allowed the state to keeps it’s electricity prices amongs the lowest in the US. However, this dependence has come at the expense of diversification into new sources of energy and greater efficiency.

When the economy recovers, demand for energy globally and in Kentucky will force continued increases in the price of coal-fired electricity and the increase will be compounded as the world comes together to address the threats of climate change.

There are enormous risks and challenges for the state as it is 80 percent more coal-dependent than the rest of the nation, and where coal is a source of jobs.

The plan must include stronger measures to pursue energy efficiency. The governor’s plan takes efficiency seriously but could incorporate more aggressive measures to help residents and businesses make efficiency improvements.

According to the Energy Information Administration, Kentucky has the sixth-highest energy-per-capita consumption among states. The residential sector is 24 percent more energy intensive than the national average.

New estimates from the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts show that each $1 million investment in efficiency creates 12 jobs. That compares to only five jobs from the same investment in coal.

The plan must also address the unique challenges facing low-income Kentuckians, including renters and those living in mobile homes and inadequately insulated houses. If significant measures aren’t taken to ensure their access to greater energy efficiency and help them pay rising energy bills, this will only exacerbate the growing economic divide in the state and across the nation.

As technology advances, the cost of renewable energy for consumers and businesses will continue to decline. And renewable energy means jobs: a $1 million investment in solar creates twice as many jobs as the same investment in coal. Kentucky has real potential to produce solar, biomass, wind and small-scale hydroelectric energy. The governor’s plan acknowledges the role of renewables but underestimates their potential contribution to our energy mix.

Small-scale, locally owned generation of renewable energy is an important part of that potential. The plan’s emphasis on large, expensive, centralized production of risky coal and nuclear technologies will raise costs and uncertainty. Technology exists and is improving daily for many kinds of local renewable generation, and upgraded net metering laws will make them more viable. The plan mentions this strategy but much more could be done to promote local production, the economic gains of which will stay in Kentucky communities.

The energy plan must take into account the impact of our transition to a new energy future on coal-producing communities.

For more than 100 years, those laboring and living with coal have helped power the nation’s growth while bearing the brunt of coal’s environmental and health impacts. Over the coming years, as coal becomes less price-competitive with other fuels, many are likely to turn away from it for cleaner alternatives, and Kentucky’s remaining resource will become more expensive to mine.

There should be greater financial and other support as miners and mining communities begin the transition to a stronger and more diverse economy.