I think this is significant.

The “war” was never really a real war as much as a rallying cry for the coal industry and its supporters. Today, Ogden Newspaper’s Wheeling News-Register, long a mainstay in the industry’s propaganda battle, signaled that it was over with its editorial “Area Can Benefit From Solar Energy.”

It begins:

Here in coal country, any competition against that fuel as a way of generating electricity is viewed warily by many people. But times change and – as long as “alternative energy” is not being subsidized with taxpayers’ money – we need to adapt.

The editorial goes on to support a solar energy installation planned for Weirton. (Unfortunately, there is no link to the editorial -- it is not online.)

This is not a total surprise in that the frequency of pro-coal editorials has significantly decreased in the last year or two. Additionally, pro-coal articles (especially those featuring local coal magnate, Robert Murray) have gone from one or two a week (five years ago) to zero. (I cannot remember the last time the front page has featured a pro-coal article.)

Additionally – Murray Energy continues to make news although we seldom read about it locally. I hope to post something in the next day or two.