Why not! That’s the answer to the question posed by Harvard in today’s top story. I don’t feel bad that we are using less coal, mining less of it and cleaning our air by doing so. I do have empathy for the coal workers that took to the mines and did the dirty work to provide for their families. Coal isn’t a political statement for them, it’s a livelihood and it is geographically focused to a few States, about 16k jobs in WV and 12k jobs in Kentucky. With a few, very easy policies I could see each of those States creating a solar market that hires half of those jobs. Retraining is simple, companies will train future employees or groups like IREC will provide training programs through local community colleges. Our focus should be on the employees working in coal, not the politicians, and make sure they push for the policies that are needed.
- Harvard Business Review: What If All U.S. Coal Workers Were Retrained to Work in Solar?
- CleanTechnica: In St. Peter, Minnesota, A Solar Fee Blossoms
- Energy Collective: How Utilities are Investing in Startups at the Grid Edge [INFOGRAPHIC]
- NRDC: Progress Continues on Regional ISO Expansion
- GreenBiz: If utilities moved to the cloud, would they use more renewables?
- EDF: 2 Steps We Can Take Right Now to Modernize Pennsylvania’s Electric Grid
- Bloomberg: Vivint Solar Rooftop Installations Rise, Reversing Decline
- Los Angeles Times: Editorial California lawmakers – Don’t punt on climate change
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann