The Resilient Energy Economies Initiative Announces 22 Grants for Research to Support Energy Communities
This press release is sent on behalf of the Resilient Energy Economies initiative, which was cofounded by Resources for the Future in April 2024.
The Resilient Energy Economies initiative (REE) is pleased to announce that it is funding 22 research projects to help US fossil fuel–dependent communities develop strategies for economic diversification. Researchers from across the United States and Canada, including many in fossil fuel–dependent regions, will carry out the research.
The initiative has committed roughly $1.8 million to support these grants. Projects were selected from roughly 60 grant proposals that were evaluated by the initiative’s academic steering committee, which includes leading scholars from states and regions with substantial fossil fuel production.
“At the local level, having reliable, well-researched data from the university level is vital for bringing actionable work ideas to the impacted communities,” said Rusty Bell, the director of the Office of Economic Transformation at the Gillette College Foundation in Wyoming. “The REE initiative is helping to provide this data by supporting research in Wyoming and across the United States.”
“The Resilient Energy Economies initiative is allowing us to work closely with the Harvard Growth Lab to develop strategies that support New Mexico’s energy communities and broader economic diversification in the years and decades to come,” said Kayla Lucero-Matteucci, the Just Transition Advisor for the state of New Mexico. “It’s really exciting to exchange knowledge with scholars and practitioners from around the nation to uplift energy-producing states, Tribes, and communities as they navigate economic uncertainty.”
“These research projects will build the evidence base and start to find the best solutions for fossil fuel–dependent communities around the United States,” said Daniel Raimi, a fellow at Resources for the Future and one of four leaders of the project.
REE is co-led by Raimi, Leon Clarke (Bezos Earth Fund, which provided funding for the grants), Emily Grubert (University of Notre Dame), Julia Haggerty (Montana State University), and Noah Kaufman (Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University). REE also receives significant input from its academic steering committee and policymaker advisory board that includes policymakers from Colorado, New Mexico, West Virginia, Wyoming, and elsewhere.
The winning grants and grantees are listed below, and include national analyses of data on employment, public finances, and public opinion; regional case studies of fossil fuel–dependent communities; and work with energy-producing Indigenous communities in the United States and Canada.
For more information about REE, its work, and the grants, visit ResilientEnergyEconomies.org.
Questions and press inquiries should be made via the contact form on the REE website.
Transforming Wyoming: Fiscal Policy and Economic Diversification Options Beyond Fossil Fuels
- David Aadland and Alex James (University of Wyoming)
Native Nations in the Energy Transition
- Andrew Curley (Diné, University of Arizona)
Revitalizing Coal Country: Assessing the Effectiveness of Recovery Initiatives in Appalachia
- Levan Elbakidze (West Virginia University) and Suhyun Jung (Oregon State University)
Worker and Host Community Experience of Fossil Plant Closure Announcements
- Emily Grubert (University of Notre Dame)
New Mexico’s Just Transition: Learning by Doing
- Ricardo Hausmann and Tim O’Brien (Harvard University)
Assessing the Effectiveness of the “Centralia Model” for Economic Diversification: A Community Engaged Case Study of the Big Hanaford Coal Plant Closure
- Anne Junod, Andrew Rumbach, and Daniel Teles (Urban Institute)
Evaluating the Spending in Fossil Fuel Communities from Recent Federal Legislation
- Noah Kaufman (Columbia University)
The Distributional Effects of the Clean Energy Transition in the United States
- Eleanor Krause (University of Kentucky)
Organizing the Energy Transition in Tennessee Fossil Plant Communities
- Nikki Luke (University of Tennessee-Knoxville)
Public Opinion on Economic Transition Challenges and Opportunities in Oil- and Gas-Producing Communities
- Paasha Mahdavi, Matto Mildenberger, Ranjit Deshmukh, Cesar Martinez-Alvarez, Carrie Fernandes (University of California at Santa Barbara), and Dustin Tingley (Harvard University)
The Potential for Lithium Extraction from Brines as a Transition or Replacement Industry in Oil- and Gas-Dependent Communities
- Aaron Malone, Elizabeth Holley, Linda Battalora (Colorado School of Mines), Alannah Brett (University of Lausanne), and Beia Spiller (Resources for the Future)
The Energy Transition and Public Finances in Oil-Refining Communities
- Christopher Malloy (University of Oklahoma) and Vincent Thivierge (University of Ottawa)
Economic Resilience in California’s Top Oil-Producing Region
- Nyakundi Michieka and Rich W. Ryan (California State University at Bakersfield)
Transition Funding Formula Development for Arizona Coal Communities
- Amanda Ormond and Kit Batten (Arizona State University)
Powering Economic Futures in Fossil Fuel Communities: Understanding Levers for Economic Diversification and the Role of Local Institutions
- Sandeep Pai and Joey James (Swaniti Global)
Worker Transitions in the New Energy Economy
- Jisung Park (University of Pennsylvania) and Mark Curtis (Wake Forest University)
Municipal Debt in Oil- and Natural Gas-Reliant Communities During the Shale Boom: Implications for Fiscal Risk and Resilience During the Energy Transition
- David Popp and Brandon Charles (Syracuse University)
US Oil and Gas Communities in a Net-Zero Future: Engaging with Local Stakeholders to Inform Federal Policy
- Daniel Raimi and Zachary Whitlock (Resources for the Future)
Enhancing Community Fiscal Resilience Against Coal Plant Retirements
- Charles Sims, Matthew Murray, Scott Holladay, Jill Welch (University of Tennessee-Knoxville), and Rebecca Davis (Stephen F. Austin University)
Navigating the Natural Resource Curse: Local Public Finance and Economic Outcomes in Rural America
- Heather Stephens, Sam Workman (West Virginia University), and Amanda Weinstein (Center on Rural Innovation)
Cleaning Up the Legacy of Oil and Gas on Native Land: Insights from Canada
- Laurel Wheeler (University of Alberta and Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Center for Indian Country Development) and Lucija Muehlenbachs (University of Calgary and Resources for the Future)
Can Improved Waterway Quality Enhance Economic Resilience in Coal Communities?
- Jeremy Weber (University of Pittsburgh), Max Harleman (Georgia College and State University), Katie Jo Black (Kenyon College), and Shawn McCoy (University of Las Vegas, Nevada)
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