Federal Working Group Hosts Stakeholder Retreat for More Than 175 Leaders From America’s Energy Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 8, 2024) – The Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (Energy Communities IWG) hosted a two-day retreat for energy community leaders to share their insights on the nation’s path forward to building resilient, sustainable infrastructure and fostering economic diversification in energy communities across the country.

The Empowering America’s Energy Communities stakeholder retreat convened more than 175 energy community representatives from across the country as part of an ongoing dialogue focused on addressing challenges and identifying strategies for revitalizing communities and supporting energy workers.  

“Each of you are doing the hard, vitally important work of supporting coal, oil and gas workers and their communities as they look to re-ignite and diversify their economies for the future,” said Brian Anderson, Executive Director of the Energy Communities IWG. “And make no mistake, this is our moment to make it happen.”

As part of the event, the Energy Communities IWG and AmeriCorps announced a new $8 million public-private partnership investment to deploy 150 AmeriCorps VISTA members in energy communities across the country. In coordination with the Energy Communities IWG Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), the program will support the development and implementation of locally designed economic development, workforce readiness and environmental remediation plans. This place-based approach will be activated in nine federally designated energy communities and will work with the RRTs to address worker and community needs using existing federal resources.

“We have a real opportunity to build the future in our energy communities, and this new partnership with AmeriCorps is going to bring a boost of enthusiasm and excitement to help these communities chart their path,” said Lael Brainard, Director of the National Economic Council and Energy Communities IWG Co-Chair.

The Energy Communities IWG has applied a place-based approach to identify gaps to support low-capacity communities in attracting private sector investment utilizing existing assets and workforce in energy communities. The stakeholder retreat focused on addressing common challenges energy communities face in their transition to a clean energy economy relating to capacity, technical assistance, infrastructure and lack of funding.

“We can’t have a conversation about climate without including the communities and workers,” said Ali Zaidi, U.S. National Climate Advisor and Energy Communities IWG Co-Chair. “Providing opportunities for people to stay in their communities instead of leaving to find a job may be a radical idea considering the long arc of American public policy, but that’s exactly what the Energy Communities Interagency Working Group is doing — and exactly what we should be doing.”

Growing the economy from the bottom-up rather than the top-down means investing in workforce development and infrastructure by providing incentives to encourage investment in communities that have been historically left behind. This economic approach has resulted in more than $20 billion in federal investments in energy communities. Within energy communities, private investments in biomanufacturing, clean energy manufacturing and infrastructure, electric vehicles and batteries, heavy industry, and semiconductor and electronics exceeded $300 billion across 470 facilities.

“We can’t rest until every energy community feels the impact of our investments. We have to ensure communities are in the driver’s seat, are making the plans and being heard. That’s hard work but it’s work worth pursuing,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy and Energy Communities IWG Co-Chair. “The future we all imagine is possible and as long as we keep working together, I know we can turn that future into a reality.”

The stakeholder retreat provided a platform for energy community stakeholders to have their voices heard and play a role in shaping future efforts of the Energy Communities IWG and its partner agencies. Stakeholders were given the opportunity to have their questions answered through direct contact with senior agency staff in the form of multiple office hours sessions. The retreat also featured numerous panels highlighting how communities and workers have overcome common challenges through the utilization of federal resources and community-based strategies.

Quotes from stakeholders include:

“An important asset of energy communities is their people: hardworking, committed to their communities.”

“Economic diversification is a woven fabric. You can’t just pull one thread.” 

“The funding model is upside-down. More funding is needed upfront for capacity building. Most communities are unable to bid on the large amounts of funding available for revitalization.”

“Mingo county was a top-producing coal county, but we had the foresight to diversify our economy early on and have been able to leverage private investment to apply for public investment.”

“Wyoming is an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy state and we are not leaving behind our communities involved in coal and gas. The solution is innovation and advanced technologies, and Wyoming is putting money into that.”

“We need to be working together through this energy transition. If we have strong regions, all of our states will be doing better.”

“A financial challenge that local communities face is that we are aware of pending or scheduled closures but are not eligible for funds to support economic revitalization until after the closure has occurred. Access to economic revitalization funding is needed pre-closure to avoid severe economic downturn.”

“We heard that a lot of these sites have liabilities. We are thinking about how we turn the liabilities into opportunities and how do we put the policies into place that help with turning ash into opportunities.”