Kentucky has a museum dedicated to the coal industry. It now runs on solar power.

If you seek an aggressively unsubtle encapsulation of the struggles of the American coal industry, look no further: The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum now runs on solar power.

The museum, owned and operated by Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, turned to solar when coal-powered energy became too expensive. "We believe that this project will help save at least $8,000 to $10,000, off the energy costs on this building alone, so it's a very worthy effort and it's going to save the college money in the long run," said Brandon Robinson, the school's communications director.

"It is a little ironic," Robinson admitted. "But you know, coal and solar and all the different energy sources work hand-in-hand. And, of course, coal is still king around here." For more on why this aging monarch increasingly has more problems than power, see this breakdown from The Week.

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