In the months since the U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE, announced the Cleanup to Clean Energy, or C2CE, initiative in the summer of 2023, a coalition including the Energy Forward Alliance and Tri-City Development Council, or TRIDEC, has partnered with several local governments and utilities to work to inform DOE of our community-led vision for the future.

This vision is focused on the concept of co-locating clean energy projects – including new advanced nuclear – with other critically important opportunities including decarbonized industrial development, manufacturing, energy storage, and research and development.

This concept will ensure our community has the clean, 24/7 power we need, along with new family-wage jobs that aren’t dependent on federal funding.

We have been concerned DOE’s initial approach could disincentivize such investment opportunities and could potentially harm the community’s ability to build a diversified post-Hanford cleanup economy for the future.

But we have also been heartened by our coalition’s progress through active communication with DOE and close coordination with the Washington congressional delegation to bring the community’s vision to light.

A matter of concern

At the core of Cleanup to Clean Energy (a phrase coined by the Tri-Cities’ own Sandra Haynes, chancellor of Washington State University Tri-Cities, and later adopted by DOE) is DOE’s proposal to use up to 14,000 acres of excess lands at the Hanford site for the deployment of new sources of carbon-free power – something we inherently support and believe has great promise for our region. 

But the matter of concern is DOE’s requirement that any such projects be removed prior to the end of the cleanup mission at Hanford. 

This approach is rooted in short-term thinking, rather than taking one strategically planned to maximize our community’s capacity for future, lasting prosperity.

Additionally, we are concerned that DOE may lease away lands needed for the execution of our vision, which requires co-location of projects. Without access to these lands, this vision simply will not be achievable.

In meetings with senior DOE officials, they have acknowledged the merit behind the community’s proposal – including the recognition that co-location would significantly increase opportunities for job creation and economic development. But in dictating that any such infrastructure be torn down in the future, they negate any realistic potential for significant investments being made on these lands. 

While solar panels can be removed relatively easily, a world-class decarbonized manufacturing plant – say for chemical, cement or steel production – or an advanced modular carbon-free nuclear reactor, or a first-of-a-kind, emissions-free food processing facility simply could not. Nor would such an investment be made when constrained by a lease with a set expiration date.

Lease or transfer proposal

This is why our coalition has urged DOE to consider our proposal to lease or transfer some, if not all, of the 14,000 acres to the community to be master-planned. Using this long-term, community-driven strategy would provide the greatest chance for transformative success and could serve as a national and international model for deep decarbonization of emission-intensive industries.

As we have communicated to DOE, there are few – if any – places in the country where such a once-in-lifetime opportunity to build a master-planned clean energy and decarbonized manufacturing park would be possible. And there is likely nowhere in the country that has the available land, technical expertise, highly-skilled workforce, robust existing electrical transmission, and transportation infrastructure, all located right next to one of the nation’s top experts on clean energy, grid-scale energy storage, and the advanced grid – DOE’s own Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, or PNNL.

In addition to clean energy projects, storage and industrial co-location, we believe the lands can also be home to advanced demonstration projects, pilot deployments of new technologies, and additional research and technology uses – an opportunity to capitalize on further collaboration between industry and PNNL.

Since the initiative was launched, we have taken every opportunity to communicate our vision with DOE.

While the final DOE request for project proposals did not reflect the community’s hopes, we continue to actively engage with DOE to underscore that this acreage represents the only land near the city of Richland suitable for future clean industrial development. Should these lands be locked into leases with external parties, the Tri-Cities will be severely limited in our economic development and diversification efforts.

Congressional delegation

In recent months, members of the Washington congressional delegation have taken public opportunities to elaborate on the community’s long-term vision with U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and echo our concerns with DOE’s initial approach.

In a series of hearings in March, April and May, Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Congressman Dan Newhouse have in unison urged Granholm and DOE to work with the local community on this major initiative.

Their united front has been a dominant asset in underscoring the leadership role the Tri-Cities plays as a clean energy hub, and in securing a commitment by Granholm to work directly with the Tri-Cities community.

In a demonstration of our desire to partner with DOE, we have communicated our willingness to support the execution of near-term clean energy deployments on a partial, limited scale this year, per DOE’s plan. But this must be paired with a commitment by DOE to in turn partner with the local community on our long-term proposal to allow the community to master-plan a large portion of these lands.

We know our Tri-Cities community – in collaboration with local governments, regional tribes, industry, community partners, and DOE – is best equipped to develop and deploy a truly impactful plan for these lands. The federal government must empower us to do so.

There is a route to supporting a successful C2CE initiative that serves as a win-win for everyone, including DOE, the administration, and the local community. DOE must recognize our vision and commit to an active partnership to ensure this comes to fruition.

Sean V. O’Brien is executive director of the Energy Forward Alliance, a clean energy nonprofit subsidiary of the Tri-City Development Council.