America’s coal and power plant communities leaned on geology, geography, ambition and entrepreneurial spirit to power the country and our growing economy. Those same features now position them to play key roles in new, clean energy industries.
May 12, 2022
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Over the last century, America’s coal and power plant communities leaned on geology, geography, ambition and entrepreneurial spirit to power the country and our growing economy. Those same features now position them to play key roles in new, clean energy industries.
I’ve seen that promise while traveling across the country to places like Kayenta, Ariz., where a solar facility now produces enough electricity to power 36,000 homes in the surrounding Navajo lands. Kayenta’s Navajo community was once reliant on a coal mine and generating station operated by companies in which residents lacked any real stake.
Today, this community can draw both clean energy and revenues from the tribally-owned solar facility. President Joe Biden believes that other coal and power plant communities across the country are equipped to follow similar paths.
These communities have infrastructure ready-made for new energy generation opportunities like clean hydrogen, small-scale nuclear and long-term energy storage. Some feature mine lands suited for rare earth elements or critical mineral extraction underground, wells that could be used to harness geothermal energy and surface areas for new businesses or clean energy projects.
Read the rest of this Op-Ed in The Hill.
Jennifer M. Granholm
Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Jennifer M. Granholm was sworn in as the 16th Secretary of Energy on February 25, 2021.
Secretary Granholm led DOE's work to advance the cutting-edge clean energy technologies that helped America achieve President Biden’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 while creating millions of good-paying union clean energy jobs and building an equitable economy. Secretary Granholm also oversaw DOE’s core missions of promoting American leadership in scientific discovery, maintaining the nuclear deterrent and reducing nuclear danger, and remediating the environmental harms caused by legacy defense programs.
Prior to her nomination as Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm was elected Governor of Michigan, serving two terms from 2003 to 2011.
After two terms as governor, Jennifer Granholm joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley as a Distinguished Professor of Practice in the Goldman School of Public Policy, focusing on the intersection of law, clean energy, manufacturing, policy, and industry.
Secretary Granholm is an honors graduate of both the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard Law School. She and her husband, Daniel G. Mulhern, have three children.
Departmental Initiatives
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There is no greater challenge facing our nation and our planet than the climate crisis. -
Revitalize the U.S. energy and manufacturing sectors and create millions of good-paying union jobs. -
The clean energy revolution must make sure those who have suffered the most are the first to benefit.