The Wise Energy forums are a series of three public events that will take place during the fall of 2009. The goal of the forums is create a public conversation about plans to develop renewable energy in Wise County, Virginia

Can Appalachian communities use renewable energy as a base to develop economies that don’t depend on coal or on big capital investments from outside the region? That’s the topic of three Wise Energy forums Appalshop is holding this fall in Wise County, Virginia. The first forum was October 1, 2009. The program began with a video “conversation starter” on Wise County’s economic history, produced by Appalshop filmmaker Tom Hansell. Among the panelists were Anthony Flaccavento of Appalachian Sustainable Development, based in Abingdon, VA; Jason Bailey of Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED), based in Berea, KY; and Carl Shoupe and Martin Richards of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.

Rev. Ray Moore of Big Stone Gap moderated the meeting.

The second Wise Energy forum will start at 6PM Thursday, October 29 in the Goodloe Center at Mountain Empire Community College, Big Stone Gap VA. The event is free and open to the public.

Personal statement from Tom Hansell, project director
As I was editing The Electricity Fairy documentary and listening to the local conversation about Dominion Power’s coal fired power plant, I kept asking myself “what is the conversation we should be having about energy?” I believe that local control of energy and food resources is a vital step toward creating a healthy community. However, these important questions of local governance are easily lost when communities must respond to large-scale projects such as the Wise County power plant, which had backing of both industry and the established political leadership. As The Electricity Fairy demonstrates, the political and economic momentum behind the power plant is powerful enough to frame the debate in terms of jobs versus environment. This resulted in a highly polarized community setting. To begin the process of healing, I want to change the conversation from “which side are you on” to “what do you imagine for the future?

The forums will help Wise County citizens:
1. Understand problems with historic methods of economic development,
2. Find common ground through shared values and
3. Create a vision for the future that goes beyond renewable energy and includes the economics of ownership, broadly sharing the benefits of development.

Citizen input from the forums will be used to create a renewable energy plan that will be presented to local government in January of 2010

Forum I Panelist Bios:

Anthony Flaccavento started working in the region for the Catholic Diocese in Virginia for their social justice office. Over time, he got bothered by the "whole jobs-or-environment controversy." So, Flaccavento helped found Appalachian Sustainable Development to revive the region's economy and protect the environment. Anthony was instrumental in helping southwest Virginia Tobacco Farmers make the transition to organic agriculture, and today organic vegetables from southwest Virginia are distributed through regional grocery chains.

Jason Bailey is research and policy director for Mountain Association for Community Economic development, a non-profit business assistance program based in Berea, Kentucky. Jason has worked for the Democracy Resource Center and consulted with many nonprofits throughout the Appalachian region. Jason has a master’s in public administration with a specialization in public finance from New York University.

Martin Richards is the High Roads Initiative co-ordinator for Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, a statewide citizens group. The High Roads initiative is working to create an economy based on respect for the people and places that are Kentucky? Martin has an Architecture degree from the University of Kentucky and worked for more than 20 years in various areas of design and construction, emphasizing green and sustainable building practices. In addition to working on his family’s farm, Martin is a past president of Community Farm Alliance and has been active for 13 plus years in sustainable agriculture, grassroots organizing and local/community economic development.

Carl Shoupe serves on the city council of Benham, Kentucky and is a member of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. A former coal miner, Carl has been working to create a sustainable future for his home community

Teri Blanton is a research fellow for Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. A native of Harlan County Kentucky, Teri has presented her experiences with economic and environmental justice to audiences across the country.

The second Wise Energy forum will start at 6PM Thursday, October 29 in the Goodloe Center at Mountain Empire Community College, Big Stone Gap VA. The event is free and open to the public.

The forums are funded by Google and the Appalshop Production and Education Fund