ACT Now (Appalachian Climate Technology) seeks to rebuild the economy in southern West Virginia by bringing new, sustainable jobs to the area. The area has historically been focused solely on the coal industry, and ACT Now provides the funding and resources to diversify the economy. Specifically, the ACT Now Coalition will create 20,000 jobs in solar and technology, make energy-efficient upgrades to buildings, and redevelop brownfields in the southern half of the state.
The WV Brownfields Assistance Centers are partners in the ACT Now Coalition’s Community & Business Resilience Initiative (CBRI), which supports the growth of a WV climate technology cluster by working with communities and local businesses to provide multi-layered community-based programs, small business trainings, and technical assistance to help create sustainability practices, green business strategies, and economic resilience readiness plans.
The initiative builds a 3-prong approach that serves as the foundation for successful economic diversification:
- People (leadership and business development)
- Planning (strategic and community resilience plans)
- Places (community and downtown development)
Through community coaching and planning, site development, and business development services, CBRI is creating conditions for the workforce, business, and industry growth in the ACT NOW region. The BACs are partnering with the WV Community Development Hub to provide technical assistance and local project support to communities identified through the Hub’s community resilience program, Accelerate WV. The first round of Accelerate WV communities was selected in May 2022.