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Coal-fired plants are closing at a record pace, and surviving plants are operating less frequently. Meanwhile, the federal government continues to scale back its expectations for U.S. coal production.

In a turnabout, the EPA has put Minden on a Superfund priority list that will help the community recover from the pollution left behind a generation ago by a coal-mining equipment manufacturer.

A Michigan energy company aims to hire more minority workers in solar-industry construction as it takes advantage of tax credits built into federal Opportunity Zone designations.

The Energy Information Administration projects an overall 7.2 percent falloff in 2019 and sees little relief for the industry in export markets, which it forecasts will decline by 15.3 percent.

In an expansion of its program to go 50 percent renewable over the next few years, Walmart has signed new solar-power deals in five states: Arizona, California, Louisiana, Maryland and New Jersey.

A Navajo company is pressing the uptake of off-grid solar and the development of larger community-based solar installations as one way to “bring light, jobs and new opportunities” to the area.

As the utility industry moves to cleaner energy, the National Association of Counties met in Denver to emphasize the importance of post-coal economic-diversification initiatives, “many a work in progress.” 

Regional growth in renewable energy has outpaced workforce job skills, pushing managers to look outside the state for employees. “We need engineers trained in the energy area,” one company executive said.

Colorado will open a Coal Just Transition Office to encourage economic diversification in coal-dependent communities. The initiative is backed by labor interests, environmentalists, county governments and state-level politicians.

A plant is expanding its 70-worker payroll to support an additional shift. “Precision and pace are key to reaching the needed production volumes,” the company owner said.