Colorado coal country turns to solar energy, organic farming

(AP) — To see the worst of the coal slump in Colorado, look no further than the state's North Fork Valley.

Since 2013, two out of three mines have closed around Paonia.

Jim Ventrello, the Delta County School District's financial officer, said there's a fundamental belief that a coal industry revival isn't going to save the region.

SEI has also launched efforts to retrain coal workers, although SEI Director of Operations Kris Sutton said the effort has been slow going in the short term: If coal miners here want to pursue solar jobs.

Delta County School District, which runs the region's technical college, purchased a 22,000 square foot building that will eventually house classrooms, a commercial kitchen and a warehouse.

Entrepreneurs could get classes, marketing assistance and a space that helps them create food products out of regional produce from the valley, including organic foods, Ventrello said.

In its economic blueprint, the county's economic development group plans to beef up its Gunnison Riverfront property with more access points for water sports, trails and picnic areas.

Meantime, regional economic development leaders like Tom Huerkamp are eyeing the region's shuttered mines and seeing another economic opportunity: generating power from methane that naturally vents from shuttered underground mines.

In addition to the state, Delta County Economic Development Inc. also plans to apply for grant money for its incubator with the U.S. Economic Development Administration, an agency Trump sought to eliminate in his budget.

In a purple state like Colorado, economic development officials in conservative Delta County are mindful that economic salvation won't come from one side of the political spectrum.