Understanding the Skill Gap and Employment Needs of Displaced Coal Fired Power Plant Workers
October 25, 2019
This initial webinar of a two-part series discusses the economic, fiscal, and workforce impacts of two Dayton Power & Light (DP&L) coal-fired power plant closures in Adams County, Ohio. The research team conducted an economic impact analysis using IMPLAN modeling software to quantify the effects of job losses in the region, combining direct, indirect, and induced effects to calculate the total.
The EIA revealed that for every job lost at the DP&L plants, an additional two jobs will be lost in the regional economy. The examination of fiscal impacts suggests that Adams County could lose $8.5 million in tax revenue, a tax base loss which will have a detrimental influence on local government budgets, especially local school systems.
Lastly, researchers assessed workforce impacts by reviewing the coal-fired power plant occupations and necessary skills associated with these positions, then mapping those skills to emerging occupations in the region. Using O*NET Data, Occupational Transition maps were created to offer employment options categorized by the ease of job transition and potential wage increase/decrease. Ultimately, the study found that transitions to new employment opportunities will require retraining and most emerging occupations pay less than the lost DP&L jobs.