Energy News Network – Coal’s downturn has taken a toll on Appalachian Ohio, but solar power could be one step on a potential path forward as the region’s economy tries to rebound. Read full article.
A recent analysis by Ohio University suggests that utility-scale solar projects could create tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity in the state.
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Amanda Woodrum, a senior researcher for Policy Matters Ohio, said ideally the region can draw on displaced workers from fossil fuel industries to “help us build the Appalachia we want to live in.”
“This is not about retraining and relocating our skilled workforce for jobs they don’t want in places they don’t want to go to,” Woodrum said when the Reimagine Appalachia blueprint was released on July 21.
Attention also should be paid to ensuring opportunities for women, people of color, formerly incarcerated and other marginalized populations, said policy analyst Quenton King of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy during the blueprint release.
