‘That’s what happens when a big plant shuts down in a small town’
ADAMS COUNTY, Ohio: The barges floating down the Ohio River no longer deliver coal to the two power plants that have stood here for decades, twin sentinels looming over this rural county east of Cincinnati.
The boilers have sat idle since May, when both the J.M. Stuart and Killen power plants closed on the same day. They once provided about 700 jobs but now are among the latest casualties of a declining industry that has seen nearly half of the nation’s coal-fired plants close over the past decade.
The vanishing of coal plants from the American landscape began years ago, but it has persisted under President Donald Trump, who came into office promising to revitalise the coal industry. He has rolled back environmental regulations meant to curb pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, installed a former coal lobbyist as head of the Environmental Protection Agency and tweeted in favour of keeping certain units operating. And yet, utilities have continued to shut down plants.
The main reason? Coal can’t compete against cheaper, cleaner alternatives, such as natural gas and solar and wind energy.
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.
The slow retreat of coal plants has brought what many scientists, environmental advocates and policymakers say is much-needed change. Burning coal causes air pollution that can damage the health of nearby residents. It releases large amounts of carbon dioxide, which fuels climate change. And the leftover waste lingers in landfills and storage pits that can threaten water supplies.
But in places like Adams County, with a population of about 28,000 and already one of the poorest corners of Ohio, the death of a coal plant also can leave an unmistakable void. When the Stuart and Killen stations closed last year, with them went the area’s highest-paying jobs, its largest employers, its biggest taxpayers and, in many ways, its lifeblood. “It’s devastating, really, to be honest,” said Adams County Sheriff Kimmy Rogers, who said he has fewer deputies than when he started in 2010 and, during some shifts, has only two to cover 583 square miles. “The only thing we had going for us, really, were the power plants.”
Stuart and Killen were among the 19 coal-fired plants to shut down across the country during 2018 - one of the largest waves of US coal plant retirements ever in a single year. Stuart, which once had a staggering capacity of 2,318 megawatts, remains the largest US coal plant ever to close its doors.
But long before that happened, local officials and union workers in Adams County scrambled to salvage them. Ty Pell, president of the county commissioners, travelled to the state capital, as well as to Washington, to seek help from Ohio’s elected officials and from Vice President Mike Pence.
“We did all we could,” recalled Pell, whose father worked at the Stuart plant. “We knew we were behind the eight ball.”
Employees went on television, imploring Trump to intervene. Union officials urged the owners to seek new buyers. Ultimately, the company that owned the generating stations, AES, never budged in its decision, saying it closed the coal-fired plants “in response to declining market conditions.”
“That money is never coming back,” Pell said of the millions of dollars in salaries and tax revenue that has vanished like wisps of steam from the coal stacks. The county commission has slashed the budget two years in a row in anticipation of lean times ahead. 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.
“Talented people are moving,” Michael Pell, Ty’s brother and the head of a local bank, said of the exodus. “It’s hard to really get your arms around how much of an impact that is.”
Of the plant workers who stayed in Adams County, some have used federal assistance to enroll in community college to train for other trades, such as welding or electrical work. Others have competed with their former coworkers for a handful of industrial jobs in the area, some of which offer lower pay and require longer commutes.
Some workers, like 58-year-old Linda Kirschner, felt too old to begin a new career but are too young to tap into their retirement savings.
“It’s been the worst year,” said Kirschner, who worked at the Killen Station for 37 years. “That plant had been my whole life.”
She made about US$75,000 a year at the plant, she said, and sometimes much more with overtime. Now, she gets by on her US$25,000-a-year pension and does part-time work at an Edward Jones investment firm for US$12.50 an hour. — WP-Bloomberg
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.