A couple months ago, Donald Trump was cheering a new coal mine in Pennsylvania that will put 70 people to work — good news for a president whose pledge to revive the industry helped get him elected.
But a bigger group of coal workers has already suffered sweeping job cuts, and it’s bracing for more.
Coal-fired power plants employ more people than mines, and they’re shutting down all over the country, including in Virginia. Cheap natural gas, the rise of renewables backed by tax credits, and subsidies for nuclear energy will likely combine to keep the trend going — and leave more people like Lynnette Faje out of work.
