Millions in POWER grants awarded to projects

The Appalachian Regional Commission is awarding more than $3.2 million to projects that range from substance abuse treatment and rural water service to solar energy and regional business investment.

Gov. Ralph Northam, Ninth District U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith and Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced the funding awards in separate press releases Tuesday and Wednesday.

The grants will come from ARC’s Partnership for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) program.

Grants of local interest include:

• The Southwest Virginia Workforce Development Board will receive $1.5 million for the Recovery Opportunities and Pathways to Employment Success project. It will combine substance abuse disorder recovery and treatment with workforce development and re-employment opportunities. The project “will make the workforce of Southwest Virginia healthier and more competitive as the region strives to overcome the opioid crisis and revitalize an economy that has been heavily dependent on coal,” the governor’s release stated.

The program will serve and improve 25 businesses, 90 workers/trainees will obtain new employment, and four new jobs for case managers and certified peer recovery specialists will be created.

• The LENOWISCO Planning District Commission will receive $50,000 for the Technology Innovation Ecosystem for Rural Water Systems project. It will identify innovative and emerging technologies that can be scaled to monitor and evaluate small, rural public water systems for potential leaks. It will include an analysis of existing leak detection technologies. It can provide immediate cost savings to the Wise County Public Service Authority, reducing water loss costs that are typically absorbed by the customer base.

• Appalachian Voices will receive $49,940 for the Taking a Proven Energy Model to Scale project. The project will provide technical assistance to grow the emerging solar energy cluster in central Appalachia. It will support a commercial-scale solar group purchase program in Southwest Virginia that helps building owners navigate the process of a commercial-scale solar installation and pool demand to reduce costs. The project will examine options for expanding the group purchase approach to other states, conduct a multi-state market analysis of solar opportunities, and prepare an assessment of the solar project finance ecosystem.

• Southwest Virginia Community College will receive $588,072 to create a credit-based, fast-track curriculum to prepare students for entry-level automobile technician positions. Students will receive certification from the National Institute for Automotive Service Education. As a result of the grant, at least 59 students will obtain jobs or will still be enrolled in the program at the end of the three-year project period, 25 workers/trainees will have enhanced positions, and five businesses will be improved.

• Appalachian Community Capital will receive $1,039,500 for the Opportunity Appalachia project.

ACC has partnered with the University of Virginia’s College at Wise and four other organizations to develop a program that attracts investment funding to federally designated opportunity zones across several central Appalachian states.

The project will cultivate investment deals that benefit investors and provide robust social returns for communities. It will provide technical assistance, create investment prospectuses and pitch decks and lead outreach to potential investors.

This initiative is expected to bring an estimated $7.5 million of new private investment to central Appalachian opportunity zones, investing in 15 businesses and creating 720 jobs, of which 70 are projected to be for persons recovering from substance abuse.