Nearly 200 people from West Virginia and Kentucky poured into Southern Community College in Williamson, WV, on June 13 to celebrate the first Energy Independence Day.

Eric Mathis, coordinator of the JOBS Project, an organization working to bring union-friendly cleaner energy projects to the region said, "This holiday is for the coalfield residents who have offered their loved ones, their lives, their health and their freedoms so that we may enjoy the everyday luxuries of electricity. Its also a look forward at how that energy mix will be changing in the future and how we can build on that to lay a foundation for prosperity in Appalachia."

OVEC was the lead partner in organizing the event, which was a mix of celebration and education. Live bluegrass musicians played while folks grabbed food from an impressive array of home cooking between workshops led by speakers from around the country.

One of those presenters, Doug Keaton of NEED (National Energy Education Development Project), is an educator from the Kentucky school system who teaches students to improve energy efficiency and reduce power bills in their high schools. Students who work with Keaton graduate high school with practical job skills they can take straight into the work force.

Keaton says, "Too often people get hung up thinking about green jobs as ones designing wind turbines and solar panels. But those businesses have accountants, secretaries, line workers and a whole array of jobs they bring with them. And with over 1 million renewable job vacancies opening up, there is a huge opportunity for the communities that embrace renewables."

Lisa Daniels, a leading expert on community ownership models for wind farms, noted that a recent study by the Pew Foundation shows that nationally there has been huge growth in the number of green jobs, but West Virginia was one of only eight states that had seen the number of green jobs decrease in the past decade.

She went on further to state, "Its not just about clean energy. Its also about community ownership of those resources. Study after study shows that community ownership brings more money and more jobs to the local economy."

In addition to the educational workshops and videos, the PhotoVoice project from Harts, WV, displayed a collection of photographs depicting the beauty of the region, and many community groups also attended, including OVEC, FRIEnergy, Appalachian Service Project, Genesis Development, and the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The JOBS Project is currently working to identify suitable ridgelines for wind development. For more information, contact Eric Mathis at thejobsproject@gmail.com or (304) 784-0864, and visit www.jobs-project.org.