Community conversations strive for clean energy project consensus
Idaho National Laboratory
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U.S. Department of Energy and Idaho National Laboratory experts gathered with elected officials, tribal leaders and industry representatives in September to discuss a proposal to lease INL land for clean energy projects.
The Department is seeking feedback on how federal land at INL might be leased to industry for clean energy projects. DOE is exploring opportunities for the buildout of utility-scale clean energy projects called for in Executive Order 14057, which President Biden signed in December 2021. DOE announced its “Cleanup to Clean Energy” initiative in July as an effort to repurpose sections of DOE-owned lands for generating clean power for the grid.
Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk, INL Director John Wagner, Idaho Cleanup Project Manager Connie Flohr, and DOE Idaho Operations Manager Lance Lacroix convened the community roundtable, which resulted in feedback for DOE to inform industry leaders in nuclear, wind, geothermal and solar energy generation at the Cleanup to Clean Energy Information Day held at INL in October.
Stakeholders at the roundtable included industry representatives, tribal leaders, and state and local officials. Attendees included individuals from the city of Idaho Falls, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, the Idaho Legislature, three county commissions, Idaho Power Company, and federal entities, including DOE Office of Environmental Management Senior Advisor Ike White.
In his introductory remarks, Turk said DOE leadership sees the initiative as an opportunity to have a positive impact on community tax bases, jobs and economic development. “We are the DOE and should be walking the talk in terms of affordable, reliable, sustainable energy,” he said.
Turk advocated for “keeping the aperture wide” and “being creative in soliciting a broad spectrum of opportunities.” Regarding power generation, transmission needs to be part of the equation, but big energy consumers such as data centers offer more localized opportunities. “There are dynamic economics now, especially with the recently passed tax incentives and grant opportunities,” he said.
The roundtable participants discussed:
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Idaho Power’s Economic Development and Innovation Advisor Johnny Anderson said the roundtable was a good opportunity to listen to different communities and their perspectives on DOE’s clean energy initiative. Idaho Power is looking forward to future engagements on the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative and how it may complement Idaho Power’s clean energy efforts and the communities Idaho Power serves, Anderson said. ?
Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper said Idaho has a head start on clean energy generation because of hydropower generated from the state’s rivers. “We’re poised to keep up this momentum through the partnerships we have with INL and with Idaho utilities actively engaged with clean energy,” she said.
Alana Edmo, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ Energy Resource coordinator, said the tribes’ relationship with DOE has improved significantly over the last two years. The 890-square-mile INL desert Site sits on ancestral tribal land dating back 15,000 years. The tribes want to use their sovereign land to impact the entire region, she said.
Turk said DOE is concerned about sovereign-to-sovereign engagement. “We need to make sure we are doing this the right way,” he said. “We intentionally are trying not to come in with full blown expectations because we want these conversations.”
About Idaho National Laboratory
Battelle Energy Alliance manages INL for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. INL is the nation’s center for nuclear energy research and development, and also performs research in each of DOE’s strategic goal areas: energy, national security, science and the environment.
For more information, visit?www.inl.gov .