Elk Garden, W.Va. – Clearway Energy Group (“Clearway”) today announced that the Black Rock Community Benefit Fund is now accepting applications from qualified nonprofits for grant funding. Black Rock, a 115-megawatt wind farm in Grant and Mineral counties, is indirectly owned and operated by Clearway.
The Black Rock Community Benefit Fund was established to provide financial support for charitable projects and programs in the communities surrounding the 23-turbine wind farm on the Allegheny Front near Elk Garden, West Virginia.
“We’re proud to serve and support the communities where we work and live,” said Doug Vance, plant manager at Black Rock and Pinnacle Wind. “The community benefit funds sponsored by Clearway’s West Virginia wind farms are our way of making sure that we’re supporting the people who need it most.”
The Black Rock Community Benefit Fund will distribute $133,000 in 2022, the first year of the wind farm’s operations, and an additional $50,000 each year for the life of the project. The program models the successful Pinnacle Wind Community Benefit fund, which will open its 2022 grant cycle in the fall and has already awarded more than $255,000 in grants to community organizations since 2012.
“We are honored to be of service to Grant County and Mineral County and their residents, particularly coming out of a pandemic,” said Jim Cookman, President of the US Wind Force Foundation. “We appreciate the community’s broad support for the Black Rock wind farm, and Clearway’s continued support for the region.”
Grant applications will be subject to a rigorous review process by an Allocation Committee of Grant County and Mineral County residents. Applications must be delivered electronically or postmarked no later than Thursday, March 31, 2022, to be considered. The benefit fund is managed by the US Wind Force Foundation.
To learn more about the Black Rock Community Benefit Fund and the grant application process, please visit the foundation website www.uswff.org. The grant application form is available on the foundation website at http://www.uswff.org/forms/USWFF_Grant_Application.pdf.
