ARC Announces Winners of Fourth Round of Grant Competition for Planning and Implementation of Community Energy Projects May 2011

WASHINGTON, May 5, 2011—The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has announced the winners of the fourth round of a grant competition to assist Appalachian communities in leveraging renewable-energy and energy-efficiency resources to revitalize their economies.

ARC received 41 applications from 12 Appalachian states for project funding. An independent selection committee recommended ten projects from six states for a total of $538,915 in funding. Five of the projects benefit ARC-designated economically distressed or at-risk counties.

ARC has now provided more than $20 million in funding to help create nearly 1,500 new jobs in the renewable-energy, energy-efficiency, and clean-fossil-energy sectors. This funding has also providing training for over 5,300 workers and students for positions in these sectors and served to leverage $34 million in additional funding from other sources.

"Local communities can play an important role in expanding markets for renewable-energy and energy-efficiency enterprises," said ARC Federal Co-Chair Earl F. Gohl. "The goal of this grant competition is to develop a community infrastructure that builds local demand and grows markets for clean-energy enterprises, generating new energy jobs in Appalachia in the process."

Grants were awarded to:

• Lindsey Wilson College (Kentucky), to develop the Columbia Community Energy Plan, which will implement policies to promote energy efficiency and the use of alternative energy in the City of Columbia and Adair County Schools.
• City of Berea (Kentucky), to develop an energy cost-savings plan, which will determine the city's overall energy usage and the best opportunities for energy and cost savings through quality data collection and analysis.
• Sullivan County School District (New York), to develop a community energy plan that will promote improvements in building efficiency and help reduce overall energy demand and costs.
• Delaware County (New York), to develop a county-wide plan for local communities, residents, businesses, public spaces, and places that will increase local demand and markets for clean-energy enterprises.
• Swain County Government (North Carolina), to develop a community energy plan that will institutionalize energy efficiency as a worthwhile governmental and community value and stimulate local demand for clean-energy enterprises.
• Maryville College (Tennessee), to develop a community energy plan and several demonstration projects in partnership with the City of Maryville while also educating the public on conservation and renewable-energy issues.
• New River Highlands Resource Conservation and Development Council (Virginia), to develop a community energy plan with Carroll County, Grayson County, and the City of Galax, which will identify and evaluate potential energy-efficiency improvements and community-scale renewable-energy projects in the region.
• Natural Capital Investment Fund (West Virginia), to assist Monroe, Greenbrier, and Pocahontas Counties through a strategic partnership with the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation in developing community-owned wind projects.
• City of Williamson (West Virginia), to develop a local energy action plan that will engage rural communities in southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky to achieve energy savings goals by investing in cost-effective, low-impact technologies and local workforce training.
• Town of Alderson (West Virginia), to develop and implement a community-based approach to energy and economic planning that can be used as a model in rural Appalachian towns.

Complete project descriptions and information about ARC's energy regional initiative are available on the ARC Web site at www.arc.gov/energy.