New Reports Sketch a Blueprint for Job Growth and Economic Development in Distressed Appalachian Communities
There are many parallels between economically struggling communities in Appalachia and Centralia, Washington, a chronically depressed coal town that lost its coal mine and is now losing its coal-fired power plant. But in Centralia, the economy, jobs and population are booming. A new report by the Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI) titled “The Centralia Model […]
ORVI Insider #20: A Model for Economic Development in Appalachia
The latest news, research, and analysis from the Ohio River Valley Institute. July 20, 2021 A groundbreaking set of new reports from the Ohio River Valley Institute explain why natural gas development failed to deliver economic prosperity to Appalachia and examine a real-world model for economic development that […]
New Report Demonstrates How RGGI Could Fund Opportunities for Pennsylvania Coal Plant Communities
The Ohio River Valley Institute’s newest report examines how the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) could support economic development and job creation in Pennsylvania, particularly in coal communities most impacted by energy market transition from coal to other energy sources. The report, Options and Opportunities for Coal Plant Communities: Pennsylvania and the Regional Greenhouse Gas […]
ORVI Insider #19: RGGI Revenue Could Help Ease the Energy Transition in PA
The latest news, research, and analysis from the Ohio River Valley Institute. June 30, 2021 A new report from the Ohio River Valley Institute outlines the economic opportunities of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Institute (RGGI), a cap-and-invest program for greenhouse gas emissions currently in place in eleven U.S. […]
Joe Manchin Cites ORVI Report in Senate Hearing on Abandoned Mine Land Damage
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) pointed to a recent Ohio River Valley Institute report in a Senate committee last week on the huge economic opportunities of abandoned coal mine reclamation. “The Department of the Interior estimates the cost to complete [abandoned mine land] reclamation work at $10.6 billion. According to recent reports from the Ohio River […]
ORVI Insider #18: What’s the Future of the Ohio River?
ORVI Insider Vol. 18 June 15, 2021 What will our Ohio River look like in 10 years? To see the future of the Ohio Valley, ORVI Research Fellow Eric de Place writes, look to a place that is almost its antipode: the tropical waters of Sri Lanka. Billions of tiny resin pellets, […]
ORVI Insider #17: Could a Former Coal Town in Washington Provide a Model for Appalachia’s Energy Transition?
ORVI Insider Vol. 17 May 25, 2021 Could a former coal town in Washington State provide a model for Appalachia’s energy transition? In 2011, Centralia, Washington was struggling to deal with a shuttered coal mine, the looming retirement of a coal-fired power plant, and the loss of more than 900 […]
ORVI Insider #16: Cutting WV’s Coal Subsidies Could Open Up $56 Million in Revenue
ORVI Insider Vol. 16 May 11, 2021 Headlining our sixteenth newsletter is new research from Senior Researcher Ted Boettner on West Virginia’s tax subsidy for thin-seam coal production. Boettner’s latest analysis demonstrates how reducing or eliminating the Mountain State’s thin-seam subsidy could yield up to $56 million per year in additional revenue, a sum […]
ORVI Insider #15: “Repairing the Damage” Sparks National Conversations on AML and Orphan Well Remediation
ORVI Insider Vol. 15 April 27, 2021 In this edition of our newsletter, we highlight coverage of ORVI’s recent Repairing the Damage reports and webinar series, co-produced by ReImagine Appalachia, on the environmental and public health problems posed by Appalachia’s slew of abandoned mine lands and orphan oil and gas wells. Our research demonstrates how […]
ORVI Insider #14: Repairing the Damage from Appalachia’s Orphan Wells and Abandoned Mine Lands
ORVI Insider Vol. 14 April 14, 2021 For more than 150 years, Appalachia has provided the cheap energy that has powered the nation’s industrial growth and helped construct the middle class. But Appalachian communities did not fuel our nation’s prosperity without a cost – thousands of environmental hazards, remnants of […]