Webb, a native Kentuckian who graduated from college around the time of the 2008 financial crisis, has spent his life watching the coal industry collapse. But he recognized that the region has more possibilities that just mining. The state’s location is strategic for deliveries: Trucks leaving the area can reach 70% of the American population within a day. (Amazon is building a new hub in Kentucky for the same reason.) With year-round, efficient production, a food company could compete with produce coming from much farther away. “Instead of shipping five days on an 18-wheeler from Mexico or California to the eastern part of the U.S., we can get that down to a one-day drive,” Webb says. He calculates that would mean using 80% less diesel than trucking produce from Mexico. … [Read more...] about This startup is going to put one of the world’s largest sustainable greenhouses in coal country
