Communities across the United States are in the midst of an energy transformation. While regions such as the East Coast and California are already planning and implementing a switch from fossil fuels to clean energy production, Appalachia faces a different challenge: how to quickly and effectively transition from coal-powered electricity to zero-emission renewables.
Appalachia spans 13 states, including all of West Virginia and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The region is known for its extensive coal reserves and mining industry. However, as the number of coal mining jobs dwindles, Appalachia faces high unemployment, exceptionally high poverty rates, and a diminishing tax base as thousands of people move away to find work. The availability of jobs in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky is especially impacted; extensive networks of local coal mines and a heavy reliance on coal mining present a special challenge to the local economy in a clean energy transition. At the same time, Appalachia is rich in energy infrastructure such as electric transmission lines and generation stations, powered by coal and often exporting electricity to areas outside of the region. The existence of such infrastructure combined with central Appalachia’s proximity to numerous large electric markets has caught the attention of clean energy companies looking to site new solar and wind generation to meet rising demand for carbon-free energy.
Climate advocacy groups are also taking notice of opportunities for renewable development in Appalachia. For example, in West Virginia the Nature Conservancy met with community members and other stakeholders in December 2021 to address the idea of placing solar infrastructure on top of former mines. The potential to use former coalfields as renewable energy sites is especially strong in central Appalachia, as hundreds of abandoned mines and coalfields provide thousands of acres of land for redevelopment and clean energy production.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maintains a list of Superfund sites across the country—contaminated properties not likely to be used for commercial or residential development that could be cleaned up, repurposed, and redeveloped. The Agency prefers that developers utilize sites such as former mines or abandoned industrial sites for clean energy developments, and some developers in Appalachia are working to do just that. One company, Edelen Renewables, will use Superfund sites for six of its 18 planned clean energy projects, repurposing former mines in central Appalachia into solar farms. Superfund sites provide a major opportunity for renewable energy growth, meaning more jobs and less dependency on coal to meet energy needs.
Changing to new forms of energy production and use can be costly and disruptive, but clean energy also presents significant opportunities for communities to reimagine and redevelop local lands and infrastructure. Appalachia is taking note. Coal country is ready for a transformation into a hub for renewable energy production.
