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While I’m sure that part of bribing Manchin to go along with a series of climate bills as bold as Biden’s campaign platform will require funds for DAC, CCS, and advanced nuclear, we ought to be a bit more creative than that. A few other ideas to consider:
New funds for building pumped hydroelectric storage facilities in Appalachia.
These use abandoned coal mines to create a low-tech battery for renewable energy storage, pumping water into the uphill mines when production is high and releasing it through turbines when it wanes.
These use abandoned coal mines to create a low-tech battery for renewable energy storage, pumping water into the uphill mines when production is high and releasing it through turbines when it wanes.
Ending the fed grant program that incentivizes converting abandoned strip mines into federal prisons.
Those funds should go toward building up the clean energy + EV manufacturing facilities in Appalachia on sites already cleared/flattened sites adjacent to transpo infrastructure
Those funds should go toward building up the clean energy + EV manufacturing facilities in Appalachia on sites already cleared/flattened sites adjacent to transpo infrastructure
Decommissioning the network of prisons in Appalachia, converting their onsite +resilient electricity generation infra into community-based electric co-ops.
Every prison there has the ability to island itself off from the grid and power itself. Give that to the ppl of Appalachia.
Every prison there has the ability to island itself off from the grid and power itself. Give that to the ppl of Appalachia.
Investing in the now-closed north-south railway that could connect Appalachia to Atlanta in the South, Pittsburgh to the North, Columbus and STL to the West, and the entire northeast corridor to the East.
A massive corridor already exists and just needs track upgrades for it.
A massive corridor already exists and just needs track upgrades for it.
And lastly, offer Appalachia up as the first pilot site for a new Climate Conservation Corps that puts people to work capping orphaned wells, remediation brownfield and other toxic sites, and reforests the hiking, hunting, and other recreational landscapes of the region.
There’s tons more I’m sure, but those are all high on my list.
On the pumped hydroelectric storage side, here are a few images of how this might work (and be paired with clean power generation) from students in my 2019 GND studio that focused on Appalachia:
On the conversion of former strip mines into prison sites, here are a few shots from students in last fall's GND studio that compiled a ton of info and imagery of how these sites are produced in Appalachia. These could all be clean energy + EV manufacturing facilities instead.
On the repurposing of decommissioned prison facilities for creating rural electric co-ops throughout Appalachia, here's more from students in last fall's GND studio on how these things might work.
There's tons more from that crew to dig into here https://appalachia.dgnd.us/