Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $595,000 grant to the Wyoming Energy Authority, Cheyenne, Wyoming, to establish the Wyoming Energy Regional Economic Coordination Office. This grant is funded by the American Rescue Plan and EDA’s $300 million Coal Communities Commitment.
This grant will enhance the economic development planning capacity of Wyoming by researching opportunities in the energy industry, developing road maps and strategies for new energy initiatives, and supporting industry coordination.
“The Economic Development Administration is dedicated to working with communities to support their locally-driven strategies to recover and rebuild from the pandemic,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo. “This EDA investment will encourage statewide coordination as communities in Wyoming deal with the economic challenge of the energy transformation.”
This project is funded under EDA’s American Rescue Plan Economic Adjustment Assistance program, which makes $500 million in Economic Adjustment Assistance grants available to American communities. The Economic Adjustment Assistance program is EDA’s most flexible program, and grants made under this program will help hundreds of communities across the nation plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through construction or non-construction projects designed to meet local needs. Effective May 26, 2022, EDA has officially closed all of its American Rescue Plan programs for applications. The $3 billion program funding will be awarded on a rolling basis through September 30, 2022.
EDA’s Coal Communities Commitment allocates $300 million of EDA’s $3 billion American Rescue Plan appropriation to support coal communities as they recover from the pandemic and to help them create new jobs and opportunities, including through the creation or expansion of a new industry sector. Specifically, EDA has dedicated $100 million of its Build Back Better Regional Challenge funds and $200 million of its Economic Adjustment Assistance funds to directly support coal communities.
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