'That’s what happens when a big plant shuts down in a small town.' Nearly half the nation’s coal plants have been shuttered in the past decade. That profound shift has moved the U.S. toward cleaner forms of energy but left some communities reeling.
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. “Obviously, you can only cut so many staff,” said schools Superintendent Brian Rau, who said enrollment has dropped more than 10 percent. “There’s a few more cuts I could make, but it sure wouldn’t be pleasant.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ferry capsize kills nearly 80 in Iraq's Mosul: medicsAt least 79 people died when an overloaded ferry carrying families on an outing ...
Read more »
Nike's stock pullback to shave nearly 30 points off Dow's price after downbeat outlookNike Inc.'s stock sank 4.5% in premarket trade Friday, to pull back from the previous session's record close, after the athletic gear giant reported fiscal...
Read more »
Floods shut nearly a sixth of U.S. ethanol productionMassive flooding in the U.S. Midwest has knocked out roughly 13 percent of the n...
Read more »
‘Game of Thrones’ star Emilia Clarke ‘nearly lost my mind and then my life’Clarke reveals she had two life-threatening aneurysms, including a stroke caused by bleeding in her brain.
Read more »
March Madness makes enough money to nearly fund the entire NCAA — here's howMarch Madness is about upsets, underdogs and uplifting narratives. The Big Dance is also about big money.
Read more »
Tyson recalling nearly 70,000 pounds of chicken strips after a report of metal piecesTyson Foods is recalling over 69,000 pounds of its ready-to-eat chicken strips after two consumers complained of finding metal with their meals, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Read more »
California accounted for nearly three-quarters of US jobs added in FebruaryCalifornia accounted for nearly three out of every four nonfarm jobs created in the nation during February, according to data released Friday.
Read more »
Columbine families gather to tell stories nearly 20 years on
Read more »
Nationwide DNA testing backlog has nearly doubled, despite $1 billion in federal fundingLabs are performing more DNA tests but can't keep up with the rising number of crime scene submissions from law enforcement, resulting in an 85 percent increase in the testing backlog.
Read more »
Some Dems want the Electoral College gone—it nearly happened under NixonFor all the current talk about doing away with the Electoral College, here's a reminder that almost happened during the Nixon administration
Read more »