The White House announced nearly $28 million in new funding Wednesday to help coal workers become drone pilots, while turning retired coal plants into prime waterfront real estate.
The money marked the second round of funding under the administration’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative, meant to help coal communities hurt by waning demand for the fossil fuel. Many coal communities and Republican nominee Donald Trump blame the administration’s environmental agenda for the waning demand for coal, while the government says the low cost of natural gas is to blame.
The White House said the money will be used to support 42 economic and workforce development projects in 13 states to build “a strong economic future in communities, and targeting various industry sectors, including manufacturing, information technology, agriculture, housing and tourism and recreation,” the White House said.
The largest tranche of funding will go to Virginia, with two loans amounting to $5.2 million. The first $3 million will go to a comprehensive project spanning four counties to enhance the outdoor recreation industry in the southwestern part of the state.
The other $2.2 million loan will be used to train drone operators and make a five-county region in the southwestern region of the state into “a national destination for the development of a drone-operator workforce to support the emerging drone industry in the United States.”
The award, being given to Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, will be used to train 64 workers and enable an unnamed aerospace company in the region to work on a contract, “thereby creating 210 new direct and indirect jobs,” a White House fact sheet said.
Pennsylvania received $960,000 to repurpose retired coal-fired power plants into valuable waterfront real estate projects to spur economic diversification and job growth.
Ohio received a $1.5 million grant for the city of Belpre for an infrastructure project to “accommodate large employers and businesses in the area.” The project is projected to create up to 255 new jobs, and leverage $3 million in new private investments.
West Virginia, which has been severely harmed by the downturn in coal use, received a number of grants, including a $2 million award to the city of Bluefield to transform a 50,000-square-foot freight station into a business “incubator.”
“This project will provide high-tech business services including prototype development, product design and development, retooling and supply-chain assistance,” the fact sheet said. “This project will support the creation and retention of 72 jobs, expand at least 12 local businesses and leverage $510,000 in private investment.”
