Growing up in Virginia’s coal country, Austin Counts said he often heard that if he didn’t work in a coal mine, he’d have to move away to find a good job.
“Throughout my college career and my work career, I've kind of really fought against that concept,” Counts said.
Today, he works with the nonprofit Appalachian Voices to connect residents and community groups in Southwest Virginia with solar and energy efficiency resources, “as a social and economic catalyst for the area, trying to bring both energy savings and energy jobs to the region.”
Counts got his start in the work in 2018, when he became an AmeriCorps VISTA member. VISTA is aimed at alleviating poverty around the country. That gig connected him with the Solar Workgroup for Southwest Virginia and the nonprofit he now works for full time.
Now, AmeriCorps is accepting applications for a new Energy Communities program, managed by Conservation Legacy. It will operate in nine regions around the country, including in Southwest Virginia.
The region was selected by a federal working group based on its history as a coal mining region, as well as employment numbers, economic need and environmental impact data.
The positions will be considered part of the American Climate Corps, an initiative by President Joe Biden to develop a workforce for the transition to the “clean energy future.” AmeriCorps reported that about 9,000 workers in America currently are involved in the Corps through programs at the local, state and federal levels.
Energy Communities AmeriCorps workers will spend a year working on economic development, clean energy and pollution remediation projects. AmeriCorps Senior Advisor Sandy Scott told VPM News in an email that the work will change, depending on where members are based, but could include:
- conducting community needs assessments;
- organizing public meetings, grant writing, outreach on tax credits and other resources to support economic development;
- educating residents about public health and safety hazards associated with abandoned mine lands;
- increasing public awareness about training and employment opportunities, and more.
While organizations like Appalachian Voices are working to build a clean-energy economy, Southwest Virginia communities are also working to remediate pollution on formerly mined lands to pave the way for future development. Communities are seeking state and federal funding for climate-change mitigation as heavy rainstorms become more frequent and more torrential, leading to devastating floods.
Counts said he’s hopeful the program will help establish a broad energy workforce in the region — not one that’s based solely on construction jobs that move from place to place.
“I've been working in the clean-energy space in energy communities for a little over six years now and never have installed a solar panel directly to a rooftop,” Counts said. “It is just as important that we have people out there advocating for it, doing the sales piece of this work, doing the education outreach piece.”
The program will bring on 150 workers around the country and is funded to hire five workers a year for the next three years in Virginia. Wages start at $15.51 per hour, and members can receive benefits, including healthcare, childcare and a $7,385 scholarship or additional stipend for each year in the program.
Applications for the positions are open until Oct. 1.
