In early April, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced eight recipients of $20 billion in grants under two competitions (National Clean Investment Fund, NCIF, and Clean Communities Investment Accelerator, CCIA). These initiatives fall under the umbrella of the historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF).
In West Virginia, a company plans to build a plant that will produce a metal and alloy critical for clean energy, fuel cells and cleaner steel. In Texas, a third-generation wind entrepreneur plans to manufacture turbines suitable for remote, rural locations. And in Pennsylvania and Colorado, a window maker plans to retrofit aging factories to produce thin, insulated units that help make buildings more energy efficient. They’re all projects getting federal funding designed to help small- and medium-sized manufacturers bring clean-energy jobs to former coal communities.
A new analysis from the U.S. Department of the Treasury shows that funds from the Inflation Reduction Act are benefiting economically disadvantaged communities more than the rest of the country through clean energy investment in communities that have been underserved and are transitioning away from fossil fuel production.
The Just Transition Fund (JTF), the only national philanthropic initiative focused solely on coal community economic transition, is pleased to announce it has provided commitments to United Mine Workers of America Career Centers, Inc. (UMWACC) to help unlock a federal Build Back Better grant enabling the UMWACC to recruit and train more than 500 dislocated miners and others in southwestern Pennsylvania for jobs in the robotics industry.
New federal funding for green energy projects from the Inflation Reduction Act is worth an estimated $370 billion, but some worry that a key tax incentive aimed at boosting renewables investment in communities formerly dependent on the fossil fuel industry is bypassing major urban areas. “All communities undergoing an energy transition — wherever they are located — deserve access to investment and federal funding,” said Heidi Binko.
We’re excited to announce that the Just Transition Fund has recently committed grants and technical assistance to help 11 projects across seven states prepare applications for Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) funding, including to the POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) and ARISE (Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies) initiatives.