The Kentucky Coal Museum has installed 80 solar panels on its roof to save $10,000 a year in energy costs and provide energy for the town of Benham. Despite coal being king in Kentucky, residential solar panels pay for themselves within seven years. The museum features exhibits on coal mining and Loretta Lynn’s music collection.
Coal mining became big business during the Industrial Revolution. Large quantities of coal were needed to power the steam engines of the day, providing the red-hot energy needed to propel steamships and trains. Coal also transformed American factories, helping to increase productivity and providing jobs for countless American workers. Today, advances in technology offer cleaner, more renewable forms of energy, and coal-fired power plants have been linked to environmental problems. So it’s ironic that in 2017, the Kentucky Coal Museum in Benham, Kentucky decided to install 80 solar panels on its roof. The museum, owned by Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, hopes that using solar power for its operations will save an estimated $10,000 a year in energy costs. Through an agreement with the council, the solar panels have the added benefit of helping to provide energy for the town of Benham, which is home to around 500 residents.
Power to the people:
Coal is still king in the Bluegrass state, but the reality in Kentucky and elsewhere is that a typical residential solar panel system will pay for itself within seven years.
The Kentucky Coal Museum has a “state-of-the-art underground coal mining” exhibit, as well as a two-ton block of coal perfect for fossil fuel enthusiasts looking to take a selfie.
In addition to exhibits featuring early coal mining tools, the museum also contains part of the personal music collection of lead singer Loretta Lynn of the famed Coal Miner’s Daughter.
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