There were bright spots and not-so-bright spots in the 2024 Virginia General Assembly session.
Blog Archives
Engaged activists get bipartisan wins in 2024 General Assembly session
TAGS: clean energy cyanide disconnection protections regional greenhouse gas initiative shared solar Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Virginia Clean Economy Act Virginia General Assembly
Community, culture and creation: Working to bring new investments into the coalfields
Beginning in January 2023, four local environmental and social justice organizations held a series of community listening sessions, one in each coalfield county in Southwest Virginia.
TAGS: clean energy economic development Environmental Justice Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards southwest virginia The Clinch Coalition UNITY sessions Virginia Organizing
Appalachian Voices denounces proposed cuts to rural energy programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 14, 2023 CONTACT: Chelsea Barnes, Director of Government Affairs and Strategy, (614) 205-6424, chelsea@appvoices.org Today, the House Committee on Appropriations passed a Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture and other programs that…
TAGS: clean energy economic development Inflation Reduction Act rural Appalachia rural electric cooperatives
Biden Administration announces new actions to help energy communities take advantage of historic federal investments in clean energy
Today, the Biden Administration announced a series of actions intended to create jobs, opportunities and investments in energy communities, and to deploy clean energy projects on former mine lands. Appalachian Voices Executive Director Tom Cormons was invited to speak at the announcement.
TAGS: bipartisan infrastructure law Chips and Science Act clean energy Inflation Reduction Act just transition President Joe Biden White House Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization
Rural communities won billions of dollars to fund renewable energy
Last year, rural advocates won big in the Inflation Reduction Act by securing billions of dollars for rural communities to implement clean energy. Now, the USDA Rural Utilities Service is asking for input on how to set up and roll out these funding programs.
TAGS: clean energy Inflation Reduction Act Rural Power Coalition rural utility services U.S. Department of Agriculture
Southeast Regional Scorecard release will grade rural electric cooperatives on democratic governance, clean energy policy and more
On Nov. 16, organizations from Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia will release scorecards examining how electric cooperatives in their states measured up across a number of areas.
TAGS: Advancing Equity and Opportunity Collaborative clean energy Energy Alabama energy democracy Energy Efficiency Kentuckians for the Commonwealth Mountain Association National Rural Electric Cooperative Association One Voice Partnership for Southern Equity rural electric cooperatives Southeast Regional Electric Cooperative Scorecards
People’s Energy Plan listening and info session, Charlotte, NC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 4, 2022 CONTACT Maddy Koch, North Carolina Field Coordinator, (828) 773-4781, maddy@appvoices.org Charlotte, N.C. — Appalachian Voices and Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE) will host a listening and information session on North Carolina energy in…
North Carolina needs a statewide People’s Energy Plan
Appalachian Voices, along with many others, is speaking up about the state’s Carbon Plan and the needs of North Carolinians as we transition to a clean energy future.
Groups urge Biden and Congress to ensure climate action helps coal-impacted communities
Congress is working on a clean-energy package. Groups across Appalachia want to make sure these investments benefit communities long hurt by coal and power plant pollution improve their economic fortunes.
TAGS: budget reconciliation clean energy Climate change energy transition jobs just transition manufacturing
Getting federal dollars to the communities that need them most
An early version of a new mapping tool from the Biden administration highlights communities facing climate and environmental justice challenges. This tool will help determine how federal dollars are spent, so we need you to help make sure that the map is correct!
TAGS: Biden administration clean energy Climate change climate justice Environmental Justice Justice40 White House Center on Environmental Quality workforce development
