President Joe Biden’s administration is making $ 450 million available for solar farms and other clean energy projects across the country at the sites of current or former coal mines, as part of its ongoing efforts to combat climate change.
As many as five projects nationwide will be funded through the 2021 infrastructure law, with at least two projects set aside for solar farms, the White House said on Tuesday.
The White House also said it will allow developers of clean energy projects to take advantage of billions of dollars in new bonuses being offered in addition to investment and production tax credits available through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The bonuses will “incentivize more clean energy investment in energy communities, particularly coal communities,’’ that have been hurt by a decade-plus decline in US coal production, the White House said.
The actions are among steps the Biden administration is taking as the Democratic president moves to convert the US economy to renewable energy such as wind and solar power while turning away from coal and other fossil fuels that produce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The projects are modelled on a site that Biden visited last summer, where a former coal-fired power plant in Massachusetts is shifting to offshore wind power. Biden highlighted the former Brayton Point power plant in Somerset, Massachusetts, calling it the embodiment of the transition to clean energy that he is seeking but has struggled to realise in the first two years of his presidency. “It’s very clear that… the workers who powered the last century of industry and innovation can power the next one,’’ said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, whose agency will oversee the new grant programme.
Former mining areas in Appalachia and other parts of the country have long had the infrastructure, workforce, expertise, and “can-do attitude” to produce energy, Granholm told reporters on Monday. “And now, thanks to President Biden’s investments in America, we have the resources that can help them bring this new energy economy to life.’’ Up to five clean energy projects will be funded at current and former mines, Granholm said. The demonstration projects are expected to be examples for future development, “providing knowledge and experience that catalyse the next generation of clean energy on mine land projects”, the Energy Department said.
