June 5, 2021 - U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he realizes the transition away from coal is happening, and he hopes people in the state realize that.

“West Virginians, we’ve all come to realize that the transition from coal-fired plants has changed, and 50% of that market has gone away in the last decade,” Manchin said. “It’s gone away under a Democratic president and under a Republican president.”

Manchin was at the West Virginia Water Research Institute and the National Research Center for Coal and Energy on West Virginia University’s Evansdale campus, looking into new clean energy options with Jennifer Granholm, secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy.

“As much as this state supports Donald Trump, he could not save the (coal) market because the market has changed and the demand for product has changed,” the senator said.

“We’re getting energies in different ways now, and people are wanting an alternative. What we’re able to do now is convert — and not just eliminate coal — as it’s needed. Now, there are products you can create when you convert that CO2, and not just emit it,” he said.

A carbon-based future is where energy is headed, both Manchin and Granholm said. Computer chips and batteries for electric cars are going to be two major items created with energy derived from carbon.

“Financial markets in America and around the world have to invest in the added-value products from fossil fuels — coal and natural gas — and we now know there is technology that can make jet fuel and gasoline out of natural gas, carbon-free,” Manchin said.

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., take in presentations on energy at the WVU Evansdale campus on Friday.

Photo by Chris Slater

Mine waste can be converted into forms of energy, Granholm said, adding that she wants West Virginia and America to be an innovator in the burgeoning field.

“We don’t want to get our product from countries we are competing with or those who use slave labor or child labor,” Granholm said. “We want to get them right here, and this innovative process allows us to make those minerals here.”

Granholm announced that the Department of Energy was awarding a $1 million grant to the U.S. Research Impact Alliance Corporation in Morgantown and $5 million to the West Virginia University Research Corporation.

“Those are just a down payment, the tip of the iceberg on what could happen, if we get the American Jobs Plan passed, which provides huge investments in coal and power plant communities,” Granholm said.

Manchin thanked Gran-holm for coming to West Virginia, for taking back to Washington evidence of what she has seen here and for knowing what can be done in West Virginia to protect the environment and create new energy options.

“In West Virginia, we understand climate change is real,” Manchin said. “We’re going to do something about it.”