Virginia, other Southwestern states hold roundtable

11/9/2011

A roundtable discussion was recently held between business leaders from Southwest states and the USDA deputy under secretary for rural development Doug O'Brien at the Grundy, Virginia-based Appalachian School of Law.

Grundy was likely chosen as the site because it has already received a USDA loan from the agency's Rural Development Business assistance program which provided residents with high-speed internet equipment to establish a wireless broadband system.

Furthermore, the state's Northern Virginia Power Cooperative recently received a $90 million USDA Rural Utilities Service loan to aid in the construction of a biomass power plant which is projected to supply around 6 percent of the NVPC's power needs between 2014 and 2030, Biomass Magazine reports. The loan is also expected to create jobs for around 400 people.

Other states present at the meeting included West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. The talks are part of a series of roundtable discussions being held by Obama Administration Officials on behalf of the White House Business Council.

O'Brien hopes to enact an economic strategy for rural America that creates jobs by "modernizing critical infrastructure, providing broadband to ural communities, expanding educational opportunities and promoting the production of renewable energy."