How Coal Country Can Adapt to the Energy Transition

This issue brief by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute examines the economic and workforce challenges facing coal-dependent communities in the United States as they transition to a clean energy economy. It analyzes the drivers of coal's decline, evaluates proposed federal strategies for a 'just transition,' and highlights regional opportunities for economic diversification in sectors such as renewable energy, environmental remediation, broadband deployment, and entrepreneurship.

• The decline of the U.S. coal industry is primarily driven by the availability of cheaper alternative energy sources and rising extraction costs, rather than environmental regulations. Natural gas has undercut coal prices since the early 2010s, and the depletion of productive reserves in Central Appalachia has further increased production costs.
• The transition has caused significant workforce shocks, with coal mining employment in the U.S. dropping by 39 percent between 2009 and 2016. This crisis was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to the loss of over 6,000 coal mining jobs in March and April 2020 alone.
• Adopting renewable energy in coal-dependent regions is hindered by limited natural wind and solar resources and 'market entry' barriers. Because utilities have invested in traditional generation for decades, smaller renewable energy companies find it more difficult to establish themselves in regions where economies are heavily dependent on coal.
• Proposed federal frameworks for a 'just transition,' such as those from the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and the Just Transition Fund's NET Platform, emphasize a holistic approach. Recommendations include establishing a National Economic Transition Office, providing wage replacement and healthcare for displaced workers, and investing in coal site reclamation and economic diversification.
• Environmental remediation of former coal sites offers a viable path for workforce transition and economic stimulus. For example, coal ash cleanup at the Colstrip power plant in Montana is estimated to create 66.4 direct jobs annually over 40 years, while Duke Energy's cleanup efforts in North Carolina created over 3,700 jobs between 2013 and 2019.
• Broadband deployment is identified as a critical driver for rural economic growth and a potential new career path for coal workers. In Colorado, Lightworks has retrained over 80 former coal workers in fiber optic installation, and Kentucky's KentuckyWired project, a 3,350-mile network, saw 80 percent of construction work-hours performed by residents as of March 2019.
• Entrepreneurship and local business development are key to diversifying coal-dependent economies, though rural areas face higher costs due to low population density and limited access to finance. Initiatives like Coalfield Development in West Virginia have trained 850 people and created 190 local jobs in fields such as real estate development and agriculture.

APA

Neal, A. (2020). How Coal Country Can Adapt to the Energy Transition. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-how-coal-country-can-adapt-to-the-energy-transition

Chicago

Neal, Abby. How Coal Country Can Adapt to the Energy Transition. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2020. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-how-coal-country-can-adapt-to-the-energy-transition.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Neal |first1=Abby |title=How Coal Country Can Adapt to the Energy Transition |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=10 November 2020 |url=https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-how-coal-country-can-adapt-to-the-energy-transition |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{neal2020how, author = {Neal, Abby}, title = {{How Coal Country Can Adapt to the Energy Transition}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-how-coal-country-can-adapt-to-the-energy-transition}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }