DOE to Invest in Clean Energy Solutions for Mine Land

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is set to provide $475 million in funding for five projects in Arizona, Kentucky, Nevada, Pennsylvania and West Virginia on current and former mine land, with the hope that these projects can be replicated in other mining communities across the country. 

“President Biden believes that the communities that have powered our nation for the past 100 years should power our nation for the next 100 years,” says U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to the President’s Investing in America agenda, DOE is helping deploy clean energy solutions on current and former mine land across the country: supporting jobs and economic development in the areas hit hardest by our evolving energy landscape.” 

The selected projects cover a range of clean energy technologies, with three projects on former Appalachian coal mines. Projects selected for award negotiation include decarbonizing gold mines in Nevada to develop a PV facility, as well as repurposing mining lands in Pennsylvania and West Virginia for PV systems. 

Managed by DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations), the Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land will help provide the mining industry with ways to decarbonize their operations.