Coal miners form the backbone of our current energy infrastructure. Big energy corporations have put thousands of coal miners out of work as the industry continues to mechanize and break unions. These corporations also engage in mountaintop removal, a practice that destroys local residents' property values and ecosystems.
This bill would incentivize laid-off coal miners to attend a school that would supply them a trade in renewable energy technologies, such as wind, solar, and geothermal. The location of most mountaintop removal sites are in Appalachia, a region suitable for the implementation of the aforementioned renewable technologies.
As coal continues to be phased out, the country will require educated workers to build and maintain our clean energy future.