For jobless coal miners in Mingo County, West Virginia, a training program is restoring jobs and hope in Appalachian communities. Coalfield Development — a JTF grantee — is paying people to train for new jobs in construction, agriculture and solar installation. The effort so far has trained more than 2,500 people, created 800 jobs, and helped start 72 new businesses using $20 million in federal grants.
It’s rare to see workers installing solar panels on the roofs of homes in West Virginia. Due partly to President Biden's signature climate law, that's slowly changing. Aaron Millner, who works as a crew lead for West Virginia-based Solar Holler, said, "I came here because of the IRA bill that Joe Biden passed.” His conviction is reinforced by better pay and, in his case, health insurance for the first time in six years. And Millner is not alone. Jobs and investments in green technologies across the country have opened up new opportunities for many Americans.
U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) announced that West Virginia has received $140,684,000 to reclaim abandoned mine lands as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funding will be used to support economic development in West Virginia communities transitioning away from coal.
The Appalachian Climate Technologies Coalition (ACT Now Coalition) is dramatically expanding on more than a decade of momentum after being named one of 21 winners of the American Rescue Plan’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge. Among the projects that will receive support from this award are a former coal railcar factory in Charleston that will be converted to a green battery institute (in partnership with Marshall University) and an electric vertical take-off and landing facility, as well as an opportunity for renewable energy expansion and a regenerative agriculture social enterprise.
To kick off the Broadband Initiative, the JTF has invested nearly $1 million in eight organizations working to close the digital divide in coal-impacted communities across the U.S.
With historic funding available, local organizations are striving to diversify and rebuild West Virginia’s economies.
Our reflections on the 2022 National Convening and how we plan to help coal communities seize this historic moment.
$1 million in matching funds and technical support provided by JTF contributes to one of the largest investments in climate technology in the state's history.
Leaders from the United Mine Workers of America and next-gen battery manufacturer SPARKZ discuss a new economic development partnership in West Virginia.
