JOBS and Energy Answers for Our WV Mountain Communities

	Many people from West Virginia and Kentucky celebrated the area's first Energy Independence Day at the Picnic for Green JOBS on June 13. Participants attended workshops on green job development, how to lay down the infrastructure for a renewable energy future, and ways to make such jobs economically viable.

by Jenny Hudson

Just and Open Businesses that are Sustainable (JOBS) began in 2007 with a group of people living in Mingo County, WV.

As a small grassroots group, we have rallied the support of organizations, university groups, professors, and research teams in finding energy solutions to transition beyond coal.

This year, our efforts to create new jobs in renewable energy have sparked some interest among our neighbors.

Eric Mathis, the coordinator of the JOBS project, frequently hears from people in the area with invitations to "come check out our land." These property owners have heard about JOBS Community Wind Initiative and want to know if the wind on their ridges will turn turbines.

Eric and I often go out for site inspections and listen to stories about how the wind blows year-round, strong enough to pull trees down or flag limbs in the winds direction. Were looking for strong wind, good roadways, and proximity to electrical lines enough information to zoom in on possible sites for harnessing wind energy, then we will send out the experts.

Back in front of a computer, the JOBS team works to raise the curiosity of investors or organizations willing to finance the start-up costs of wind projects that will ultimately belong to the community. A business model that retains economic benefits within the local economy is ideal. Federal incentives for wind energy include a 30 percent tax credit for wind energy investment.

Putting up wind turbines will bring jobs to the area and increase the local tax revenue. The payoff period is quick when clean electricity is generated and sold to power providers.

Energy is a key word in policy lately. We have all heard talk about energy independence and the green transition. Traveling through Appalachia, we can see the smoke from John Amos Power Plant or carts of coal moving along our railways and waterways.

Recently, JOBS met with American Electric Power to discuss ideal locations for wind power and biomass facilities that are clean and sustainable (in some cases, excess wood waste from mills, etc., can be converted to fuel).

The AEP maps called our attention to the power lines we pass under every day, which deliver electricity derived mostly from coal. There are energy solutions that can thread our communities back together with people working towards responsible ways of using our abundant renewable resources.

The JOBS community meets each month to shape our ideas for transition, and it is always good to see new faces. We hosted a Wind Energy Tour on April 25, so folks could examine the turbines at Mountaineer Wind Energy up close.