About 30 companies, many better known for electric generation than work around the weapons complex, took part in the Department of Energy’s Cleanup to Clean Energy day at the Hanford Site in Washington state, according to data posted after the Sept. 22 gathering.
Some of the big names include Shell, Next Era Energy, which describes itself as the “world’s largest utility company,” along with Energy Northwest, the local electric company that already operates the Columbia nuclear plant on land leased from DOE at Hanford.
The Bonneville Power Administration, or BPA.gov the federally-owned power-marketing entity within DOE that distributes hydro-electric power across the Northwest, was also on hand.
A slew of others attended, some regular DOE nuclear contractors and others active in the field of carbon-free or renewable electric generation, are included on the list of participants.
Participating organizations and (primary business lines based on company websites) included:
- Akari Energy (solar)
- Arcadis (sustainable design)
- Atkins, Avangrid Renewables (wind and solar)
- Bechtel, Boss Consulting, Bright Night Power (wind and solar)
- Burns & McDonnell, Campbell Training Solutions; Ecoplexus (solar)
- Fluor
- Framatome
- Galehead Development (wind and solar)
- Green Investment Group
- Hecate Energy (carbon-free electricity)
- OCO Chem (carbon storage)
- Quesenberry Construction, RAI Energy (wind, solar)
- RES Energy Solutions (compression products)
- Sargent & Lundy, Stanley Consultants
- Tetra Tech
- Triple Oak Power (wind)
- Westinghouse Electric Co.
Under the program, DOE could make 30 square miles of southeastern Hanford land into a clean energy technology park. Comments on the Hanford Clean Energy information day can be emailed to [email protected] by Oct. 12 at 4 p.m. Pacific Time.
A DOE website indicates the Hanford acreage might be suitable for a number of projects including small modular reactors, solar power, hydrogen and battery storage to back up renewable resources.
Any clean energy projects would require vetting through the National Environmental Policy Act, according to a DOE presentation. An environmental assessment could last up a year and would entail production of a report of up to 75 pages. A more detailed environmental impact assessment could take two years, a period that can be extended, and involve a report of up to 150 pages.
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm rolled out the White House-backed program in July in Washington, D.C.
DOE also envisions tapping unused land at the Idaho National Laboratory, the Nevada National Security Site, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina for carbon-free electricity projects.
