The Messy Politics of Clean Coal: Contested Energy Alternatives in the Appalachian Coalfields

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

This project examines the processes by which "clean coal" technologies are being institutionalized, supported, debated, and contested at the local level in economically marginalized communities in Appalachia. A range of conflicting arguments, stories, policy perspectives, and knowledge claims of different stakeholders in these debates are documented and compared. Contemporary proposed coal-to-liquid production, coal gasification, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in five Appalachian communities are analyzed alongside coal gasification and related projects dating back to the 1970s in the region. Struggles over contemporary projects are placed in historical context through both the analysis of the successes and failures of past alternative energy projects and an extensive examination of the social, political, environmental and economic forces that have shaped the changing tides of support for (and resistance to) these technologies over time. The project increases understanding of the social, historical, political, and environmental implications of clean coal technologies, as viewed by a range of stakeholders in coal-producing communities. It deepens understanding of the ways in which dominant and marginalized groups engage in debates over controversial technologies, and how different stakeholders use data, expert knowledge claims, communications technologies, and other resources to advocate for their positions. This research contributes to literatures in the fields of Sociology, History, Appalachian Studies, and Science and Technology Studies, integrating key concepts from these fields into a multi-disciplinary approach. The project promotes broader public understanding of and participation in debates about clean coal and other energy alternatives in the Appalachian region. The comparative analysis of alternative energy projects is written for a general audience as well as an academic audience, and made available through the Appalachian Center at the University of Kentucky. Findings are circulated widely among community groups, researchers, and other constituents of the Appalachian Center in an effort to encourage public dialogue about energy alternatives in the region.