The Kentucky Coal Museum won't need as much coal anymore. The museum in Benham (in Harlan County) is installing solar panels on its roof, part of a project aimed at lowering the energy costs of one of the city's largest electric customers.
Opened in 1994, the museum is housed in a building that was once the company store for the former coal camp town. The museum houses relics from the state's coal mining past, including some items from the personal collection of "Coal Miner's Daughter" country singer Loretta Lynn.
Kentucky is the nation's third largest coal producer. But government officials have been searching for ways to diversify the state's energy sources as more coal-fired power plants are replaced by natural gas.
The state legislature recently lifted its decades-old ban on nuclear power.
