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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; In a region where coal was once king, a German researcher on Thursday shared his perspectives on how the European nation&#8217;s continuing transition from coal to renewable energy can apply to Pennsylvania and the United States.</p><p>Timon Wehnart, vice head of the Wuppertal Institute in Berlin and a project coordinator for Energy, Transport and Climate Policy, presented a short lecture titled &#8220;The German Energy Transition Away from Coal: Perspectives for Pennsylvania&#8221; prior to a panel discussion at Wilkes University.</p><p>The Wuppertal Institute researches and develops models, strategies and instruments for transitions to sustainable development at local, state and national levels.</p><p>In Germany, coal mining jobs decreased from a peak of more than 750,000 in 1956 to less than 21,000 in 2016, driven purely by economic reasons, Wehnart said.</p><p>Similarly, coal jobs in the United States dropped from a peak of about 862,000 in 1923, to just over 81,000 in 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.</p><p>In Germany, however, the number of renewable-energy sector jobs is flourishing &#8212; at more than 330,000 in 2015.</p><p>And while Nora L&#246;hle, a program director with the Heinrich B&#246;ll Institute &#8212; one of the sponsors of Thursday&#8217;s presentation, noted that coal accounts for most of Germany&#8217;s current energy mix at 40 percent, Wehnart said Germany&#8217;s goal is to have renewables comprising 80 percent of the mix by 2050 (up from about 30 percent).</p><p>Key challenges so far have been market design (determining what a power market with 30 percent to 80 percent renewable energy should look like); providing incentives for flexibility and storage development; and extending the energy grid to get wind energy from northern to southern Germany, he said.</p><p>He pointed out that new storage technology is a long-term question.</p><p>Wehnart noted Germany has dealt with acid mine water by creating small lakes. An old breaker has been turned into a museum.</p><p>In a question-and-answer session, he noted that while the initial cost to produce renewable energy sources will be greater than fossil fuels, that cost will drop over time and eventually will cost less than fossil fuel production.</p><p>During a panel discussion that followed Wehnart&#8217;s presentation, Rob Altenburg, director of PennFuture, and Lindsay Baxter, program manager for Climate and Energy at the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, agreed that government subsidies can help in the transition.</p><p>Altenburg noted Pennsylvania alone dishes out $3.2 billion annually in fossil fuel subsidies. He said the amount of renewable energy subsidies in Pennsylvania is &#8220;minuscule&#8221; compared to that.</p><p>Robert Hughes, executive director of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, said Pennsylvania is &#8220;in a position to start capitalizing on some of these (acid mine water) discharges in the area and look at them in another way,&#8221; such as potentially providing hydro-power &#8212; one of several forms of renewable energy.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">German researcher Timon Wehnart gives a presentation about transitioning from coal to renewable energy at Wilkes University&#8217;s Stark Learning Center in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117coal1.jpg</photo0><caption0>German researcher Timon Wehnart gives a presentation about transitioning from coal to renewable energy at Wilkes University&#8217;s Stark Learning Center in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117coal10.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Timon Wehnart gives a presentation at Wilkes University's Stark Learning Center in Wilkes-Barre on Thursdya, July 20. 7/20/17. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL072117coal10.jpg</photo1><caption1>Timon Wehnart gives a presentation at Wilkes University's Stark Learning Center in Wilkes-Barre on Thursdya, July 20. 7/20/17. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Steve Mocarsky</p><p>smocarsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Steve Mocarsky at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @TLSteveMocarsky.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Expert: Germany can guide Pa. on coal