The Obama administration announced last week it will invest nearly $15 million in helping coal communities in 12 states and tribal nations transition their economies away from the fossil fuel industry and toward new areas like healthcare, information technology, tourism and agriculture.

The money will go to states grappling with the faltering coal industry, many of which are also the staunchest opponents of the administration’s Clean Power Plan, which targets pollution created by coal-fired power plants.

The grants will be used to train unemployed coal miners, install high-speed internet infrastructure, grow renewable energy, expand tourism and examine how to reuse or restore abandoned mine land, among other projects. The money is being administered through the White House’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative. It will go to communities in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Illinois, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

ARC grant to Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC) in Cedar Bluff, VA for the Retraining Energy Displaced Individuals (REDI) Center for Dislocated Coal Miners program. The REDI program will provide fast-track reemployment services directly to displaced coal miners -- equipping them with the necessary skills to get back to work in a high-demand field, earning comparable wages to their previous employment. Through an intensive, accelerated program of coursework, workers can obtain credentialed skills in as little as four months, rather than the more traditional training periods of a year or more. Training will be focused on three sectors with local employment opportunities: advanced manufacturing, construction, and health technology.