Just as the U.S. Government moves to revitalize the coal mining industry, the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum, deep in Harlan County and dedicated to all aspects of extracting coal from the state’s mountains, is going solar.

The museum, which is owned by Kentucky Community and Technical College, is switching to solar power in hopes of shaving up to $10,000 dollars off its hydro bill and began installing solar panels this week.

Among the exhibits to be lit by the sun; one dedicated to Loretta Lynn “The Coal Miner’s Daughter”, the museum’s 1940s model electric train that once carried Kentucky men to the mines and an actual underground coal mine.

While admitting it’s a little ironic, College spokesman Brandon Robinson says “coal and solar and all the different energy sources work hand-in-hand” but he adds, “in Kentucky, coal is still king.”