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Moving Above Ground: From Coal Mines to Clean Energy
Moving Above Ground: From Coal Mines to Clean Energy
Emily Hois
August 15, 2013
As the number of coal mining jobs continues to decline throughout the U.S., more unemployed miners are finding work above ground — in the clean energy industry, ironically.
A group called The JOBS Project has been working for the past three years to help workers throughout Central Appalachia obtain renewable energy jobs in coal-dominated states like Kentucky and West Virginia. "In no way are we against coal or trying to replace coal,” said The JOBS Project spokesman Nick Getzen. “There's still going to be coal mining here. This is just something else to help the economy."
In February of 2011, The JOBS Project celebrated a milestone when a group of unemployed and underemployed coal miners installed rooftop solar panels on a doctor’s office in Williamson, WV. The array is expected to pay for itself within seven years, showing local residents that solar energy is “real technology and they can have it in their communities,” Getzen said.
Some coal mining families have been plagued with uncertainty since President Obama’s climate change proposal called for a reduction of coal-fired plants throughout the U.S. “It used to be you could do a dirty, hard job like coal mining and feel good about working hard and feeding your family. Now it’s like we’re doing some bad for the country,” a Virginia coal miner told The Daily Beast.
As these workers become laid off from the coal mines, many struggle to find dependable work to support their families. This stresses the importance of having organizations like The JOBS Project step in to help these workers land on their feet in the push toward renewable energy. The employment group has partnered with companies such as Mountain View Solar & Wind to develop job training programs where many of the coal-turned-clean-energy workers are earning higher salaries than they did in the mines.
Besides higher wages, the health benefits of working in clean energy are an additional perk. A report by...
Emily Hois
August 15, 2013
As the number of coal mining jobs continues to decline throughout the U.S., more unemployed miners are finding work above ground — in the clean energy industry, ironically.
A group called The JOBS Project has been working for the past three years to help workers throughout Central Appalachia obtain renewable energy jobs in coal-dominated states like Kentucky and West Virginia. "In no way are we against coal or trying to replace coal,” said The JOBS Project spokesman Nick Getzen. “There's still going to be coal mining here. This is just something else to help the economy."
In February of 2011, The JOBS Project celebrated a milestone when a group of unemployed and underemployed coal miners installed rooftop solar panels on a doctor’s office in Williamson, WV. The array is expected to pay for itself within seven years, showing local residents that solar energy is “real technology and they can have it in their communities,” Getzen said.
Some coal mining families have been plagued with uncertainty since President Obama’s climate change proposal called for a reduction of coal-fired plants throughout the U.S. “It used to be you could do a dirty, hard job like coal mining and feel good about working hard and feeding your family. Now it’s like we’re doing some bad for the country,” a Virginia coal miner told The Daily Beast.
As these workers become laid off from the coal mines, many struggle to find dependable work to support their families. This stresses the importance of having organizations like The JOBS Project step in to help these workers land on their feet in the push toward renewable energy. The employment group has partnered with companies such as Mountain View Solar & Wind to develop job training programs where many of the coal-turned-clean-energy workers are earning higher salaries than they did in the mines.
Besides higher wages, the health benefits of working in clean energy are an additional perk. A report by...
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/08/moving-above-ground-from-coal-mines-to-clean-energy?cmpid=WNL-Friday-August16-2013
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