Coal, Community, & Politics: The Fall & Future of WV Energy

Our County, Our State’s Past

Monongalia County‘s last mine, Blacksville Mine No. 2, closed in 2021 after more than 50 years of mining.

In 2009, Monongalia County employed 1,380 coal miners who produced over 10 million tons of coal. Statewide, nearly 44,350 people worked in active mines (WV MHS&T Annual Report). Coal wasn’t just energy—it paid for schools, roads, fire departments, and the reliable local economy that generations relied on.

But starting in the Obama years, federal policies like the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, redirected investments away from coal (Motley Fool) and toward wind and solar, shrinking production from roughly 1 billion tons to 577 million between 2014 and 2021 (EIA). That left many looks like counties, like Monongalia County, reeling.

The Blacksville No. 2 Mine, which ran for over 50 years, finally shut its doors in mid‑2021; around 180 workers were laid off (Mining Connection). Mining tax revenues evaporated, and services across the county felt the pinch.

When “Just Transition” Was Anything But

Prior to the War on Coal & Green New Deal large stock piles of coal were commonplace in West Virginia.

Sen. Bernie Sanders first visited the Mountain State in 2016 as a presidential candidate (Bernie Sanders: Green New Deal), saying,

“We must guarantee that coal miners and their families receive the benefits they’ve earned and ensure that no worker is left behind in the transition to clean energy.”

A nice promise in theory—but here at home? Those “just transitions” translated into shuttered mines, empty storefronts, and fewer futures for our kids.

Politics Moves the Needle

The first and second Trump administrations have done more to help coal than any administration this century.

Then Trump came in 2017. His administration undid the Clean Power Plan (Politico), introduced the ACE rule (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), pulled out of the Paris Agreement (U.S. Department of State), opened more federal lands for coal (NY Times), and streamlined permits (World Coal). Coal production stabilized, exports rose, and there was a glimmer of recovery (CoalZoom).

Today, with the second Trump term underway in 2025, promises are even bigger—fast‑tracking permits (Fox Business), rolling back environmental rules (CBS News), offering tax incentives and infrastructure boosts (WVIA), investing in former coal mining lands (U.S. Department of Interior), and pushing coal exports to allies (The White House). These moves aren’t just political posturing—they’re sending signals to our local operators to invest, hire, and produce again.

Enter Bernie Again

Bernie is back in WV on his limousine liberal tour.

At the same time, Sen. Sanders has returned to West Virginia as part of his “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here” tour (WVPB).

This tour, his first stops in the state since the passage of Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” frames itself as a pushback against corporate control and widening inequality.

The Monongalia County GOP — echoing voices in the West Virginia Republican Party — is blunt: we hope Sen. Sanders enjoyed visiting our beautiful state, and actually listened to the people in the communities affected by the policies he championed, pointing out a history of anti‑coal positions that have destroyed jobs and our way of life (WVGOP).

“It is extremely rich that Senator Sanders will visit the southern coalfields of our state – people whose jobs he called on ending and that were permanently lost and communities who are still reeling from the devastation he helped inflict during the Obama and Biden administrations. His long record of hostility toward the industries that built this state is well known. I’m hopeful that he will use his time in our state as an opportunity to hear firsthand how his anti-energy, anti-Blue Collar Worker agenda has harmed our people,” said Josh Holstein, WVGOP Chairman.

Why This Matters to West Virginia

Blue-collar workers are the backbone of our economy.

Our story isn’t just local—it reflects a broader clash over energy, identity, and survival. From 2009 to 2024 (excluding Trump’s first term), West Virginia endured policies that shrank coal, hurt families, and hollowed out main streets.

Now, leadership under President Donald Trump, WV Governor Patrick Morrissey and Republicans in Congress and the statehouse offers a different path—one that values coal, protects miners, and aims to restore prosperity. And just as that conversation starts, Sanders comes back into the mix, rallying his base around reform while his opponents argue he should reckon with the realities his ideas created here.

West Virginia has always been more than an energy state—it’s a uniquely special place shaped by coal and the people who mined it. The fight for its future continues, with voices demanding to be heard.

West Virginia Republicans continue to unburden us by what has been from 80+ years of Democrat control.