Energy-Rich Communities Stand to Lose Everything with Biden’s Radical Climate Policies

April 2, 2021

The Appalachia region is known for the blue-collar working people residing there and what was once a thriving coal industry. Since the war on coal that started under President Obama, coal plants have been closing all across Appalachia and the effects continue to devastate communities.

Many people do not realize the lasting effect a single power plant closure has on a community. In June 2018, the Dayton Power & Light Company’s two plants closed, located on the banks of the Ohio River between Manchester and Aberdeen, Ohio. The close-knit Ohio community of Manchester is still feeling the effects of the closure almost three years later. Fox Business discusses the impact of closing two power plants and the continued effects today:

A study done by Ohio University found that the plant closure resulted in the loss of 1,131 jobs and a loss of $700 million to the area in economic output.

“We were to the point where we needed to add classrooms and we were out of room,” Manchester’s mayor, Teresa Blythe, said of her town’s school prior to the plant closure. Manchester’s schools were 100 percent funded by the power plants. “Now, we have empty classrooms because we’ve had to let teachers go, lost the funding, and the kids aren’t there.”

The two Dayton Power & Light Company’s power plants had been in the community since the 1970’s and 1980s and were the community’s biggest employer.

“I think when we heard the power plants were going to close, I didn’t realize the effects it would have on the community,” said Lori McCartney, member of the town’s council. “I just thought some people would lose their job. It’ll be bad, but I didn’t realize the devastation that would follow.”

President Biden and his administration are not thinking of the repercussions of continuing to close power plants and further cripple the energy industry that supports so many American jobs and communities.

The reality is energy-rich communities across the United States depend on these plants for jobs and the much-needed revenue they bring in to help with community improvement projects like infrastructure, schools, and so much more. Biden’s top-down approach to the energy sector is ignoring the interests of local communities, and sadly average Americans will continue to suffer the consequences of Biden’s eco-left policies.