By the time the middle of 2013 rolls around, a new coal-processing equipment plant will have opened in Lexington - and it will be the result of the first major investment into Kentucky from China.

That China's first investment into Kentucky is coal-related is no surprise. China has more than 100 cities with a population of over 1 million residents, compared to nine in the U.S. Experts predict China's population figures will continue to grow as the country embraces a more liberal economy, a factor that will inevitably lead to higher energy needs.

Although the Environmental Protection Agency continues to strive to shut down Kentucky's energy sector for the sake of unproven, alternative fuels, the increasing demand for coal - not only from local residents, but also from places as far off as China - is a testament to the vital economic importance of the commonwealth's natural resources. Coal is Kentucky's comparative economic advantage, and as more countries embrace a more western economy, it will become even more valuable to Kentuckians. We can't afford to let bureaucrats legislate that economic potential away.

Clearly, there is a rapidly increasing global demand for the cheap energy provided by the Bluegrass State. Demand is what drives a free market, and no bureaucrat can steer against those market forces for long.