The U.S. Department of Energy has announced $425 million in funding for clean energy projects. The money for the projects will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and be managed by the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains.
Crucially, the funding will be directed toward companies operating in current and former coal communities, in an attempt to use the clean energy transition to bring jobs back to communities that have long relied on the polluting coal industry — and have suffered as society has moved away from burning coal.
The funding will prioritize two “areas of interest”: clean energy manufacturing and recycling, and industrial decarbonization. Both areas aim to reduce our national dependence on dirty energy by creating more clean energy infrastructure.
There are currently under 50,000 coal miners employed in the United States, and areas that once relied on the industry — particularly in…
