Washington, District of Columbia

A dramatic transformation in our energy economy is driving fundamental changes in the way we power our homes, offices, factories and communities. This means cleaner air, healthier communities, and new jobs and industries that didn’t exist two decades ago. But it’s also having a profound impact on workers, families and communities who have relied on the coal industry as a source of good jobs and economic security. There are many reasons for this transformation in energy – and there has been vigorous, impassioned debate about those reasons.

The Administration’s FY15 Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, the Small Business Administration, and the Appalachian Regional Commission. Under POWER, federal resources are targeted to assist communities negatively impacted by changes in the coal industry and power sector to diversify their economies and create jobs.

In FY 2015, EDA invested $350,000 to Washington, DC’s International Economic Development Council (IEDC) to create the IEDC Institute for Coal Communities in Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The initiative is designed to assist distressed communities in their efforts to address local conditions that will support economic growth and resiliency through customized training, webinars, mentoring, and publications for coal-dependent regions. The initiative is designed to assist distressed communities in their efforts to address local conditions that will support economic growth and resiliency through customized training, webinars, mentoring, and publications for coal-dependent regions.