In August 2023, West Virginia University Professors Ann Eisenberg, Katherine Garvey, and Alicia Plemmons, along with Professor Julia Haggerty of Montana State University, were awarded a $143,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support a 2023-2024 initiative entitled “Best Practices for Community Engagement for Just Energy Transitions in 2024.”
The grant will fund a conference of the same name, to be held at the College of Law May 30-June 1, 2024.
The event will bring together researchers, practitioners, and residents of communities affected by the energy transition to address three central questions: (1) What are best practices for researchers to engage transitioning energy communities for scholarly purposes? (2) What are best practices for transitioning energy communities to operationalize research on, and resources for, just energy transitions? (3) What role can practitioners and advocates play in leveraging resources for transitioning energy communities, including research resources and novel public investments in renewable energy and community development? Members of the public will be able to participate in portions of the event through livestreaming options.