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Decades of decline in the coal industry have led to job loss, economic challenges and disinvestment across West Virginia, a state that powered America for generations. The Appalachian Climate Technologies Coalition (ACT Now Coalition) — a collaboration of key West Virginia cities, economic revitalization organizations, leading academic institutions and private sector innovators — hopes to change that.
Funded by federal grant awards totaling $62.8 million, as well as an additional $26 million match from nonfederal sources, the ACT Now Coalition is focused on building a new economy for Southern West Virginia by:
- Supporting the transition from coal to solar power.
- Implementing sustainable reuse projects on abandoned mine sites.
- Rejuvenating brownfield sites with new facilities equipped to train a diversified, skilled workforce and provide advanced manufacturing capacity.
- Developing entrepreneurial programs to support employment in environmental sustainability.
“It ain’t just throwing money at the problem, it’s holistically placing power directly into local people’s hands to manifest tangible, long-lasting solutions in their communities. It ain’t just political talk either, it’s about creating REAL jobs in REAL places that need them REAL bad, with resources that serve us the best,” said Jacob Hannah, CEO of Coalfield Development Corp.
The ACT Now Coalition, led by Coalfield Development, is one of 21 winners nationwide to receive a funding award from the highly competitive U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC). The federal grant award supports eight separate ACT Now Coalition projects across 21 counties, including the GROW Now Workforce Initiative, Community + Business Resilience Initiative, construction of the Just Transition CENTER, and more.
The ACT Now Coalition expects to create 6,000 direct full-time jobs, 15,000 indirect jobs and 125 businesses, as well as leverage more than $250 million in private sector investment in climate technology sectors.
Southern West Virginia has felt the economic impact of declining coal mining and is ranked No. 1 in the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization’s (Energy Communities IWG) top 25 priority communities. The state sits at No. 2 in the nation for highest coal production, yet hit its lowest point in coal-mining employment since 1890 in 2021.
The Energy Communities IWG is charged with advancing an interagency commitment of robust federal leadership in direct partnership with energy communities to foster economic investment and revitalization and ensure the creation of good-paying jobs. The Energy Communities IWG has identified billions in funding to support transitioning energy communities to help revive their economies for the future. Investments in projects such as the ACT Now Coalition help ensure new jobs and opportunities will become available in all pockets of America.