Virginia gets $3.4M in grants to diversify in coal areas

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia has received two grants totaling $3.4 million to expand and diversify the economy in the state’s coal-impacted communities.

The grants came from the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Partnership for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization program. The congressionally-funded initiative targets federal resources to help communities affected by job losses in coal mining and coal power plant operations.

Virginia Community Capital, Inc. will receive $2.5 million to fill critical capital gaps to strengthen central Appalachia’s economy and accelerate market development in a six-state region, including Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

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The LENOWISCO Planning District Commission will receive $917,315 to conduct Project Intersection, a new regional 200-acre industrial site in the coalfields of southwestern Virginia.