ARC Announces Winners of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Grant Competition February 2008

WASHINGTON, February 27, 2008—The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has announced the winners of its grant competition to assist Appalachian communities in leveraging renewable energy and energy efficiency resources to revitalize their economies. Grants totaling $605,000 were awarded to 12 winners from 10 Appalachian states for projects promoting energy-efficient buildings, biofuels production and distribution, clean energy incubators, geothermal heat systems, landfill gas collection and distribution, LED traffic light installation, wind energy production, and energy-related education and training.

Grants were awarded to:

• The Business Technology Development Center (Alabama), to provide technical assistance services to clean and renewable energy businesses through the Tennessee Valley Renewable Energy Team.
• The Coosa Valley Regional Development Center (Georgia), to initiate a Clean Cities Coalition program for a 15-county region in northwestern Georgia to increase the production and use of biofuels.
• The Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, to develop an energy business "boot camp" providing intensive performance-based entrepreneurial training and mentoring to growing firms.
• The Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (Kentucky), to provide a range of support activities to assist entrepreneurial enterprises in the area of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
• Frostburg State University (Maryland), to develop a certificate program on the design, installation, and maintenance of solar- and wind-powered residential electric generation systems.
• Jackson County Green Energy Park (North Carolina), to train students in blacksmithing skills and to promote energy efficiency in blacksmith forging.
• The Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (Ohio), to develop, on behalf of the City of Athens, a public market pavilion for area value-added agriculture entrepreneurs.
• Saint Francis University (Pennsylvania), to install and deploy a geothermal heat pump in its new DiSepio Institute for Rural Health and Wellness.
• The SEDA–Council of Governments (Pennsylvania), to replace conventional traffic lights with energy-saving LED traffic signal modules at 225 intersections.
• The Cleveland/Bradley Business Incubator (Tennessee), to develop an energy business incubator that will provide small-business development assistance in energy-related fields.
• The Town of Blacksburg, Virginia, to create a new energy efficiency education program and to purchase and install a geothermal heating and cooling system.
• The Mingo County Redevelopment Authority (West Virginia), to develop a forest energy cooperative to harvest and market mill and forest-floor waste as a renewable energy feedstock.

ARC Federal Co-Chair Anne B. Pope said the winners stood out among numerous applicants. "We received 43 applications from across the Appalachian Region, totaling more than $2.7 million in requests," she noted, "and we identified 24 additional proposals of merit. But the ones we finally chose distinguished themselves for their innovative approaches and promise to develop Appalachia's energy efficiency resources and create jobs."

Pope added that the projects proposed by the winning applicants would be reinforced by planned future training and workshop programs.

More information about ARC's energy regional initiative is available on the ARC Web site.