DoomsdaysCW<p>More of this, please...!</p><p>Feds pick <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Hanford" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Hanford</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nuclear" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>nuclear</span></a> site for massive <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SolarFarm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SolarFarm</span></a> </p><p>By Conrad Swanson <br>July 25, 2024</p><p>"While Washington struggles to contend with surging demand for electricity, federal officials on Thursday announced plans for a massive solar farm on the Hanford nuclear site.</p><p>"The U.S. Department of Energy is negotiating a real estate deal with Chicago-based <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HecateEnergy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HecateEnergy</span></a>, which would build a solar farm across 8,000 acres of federally owned lands on the heavily <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/polluted" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>polluted</span></a> site.</p><p>"If built as planned, the project would have the ability to generate up to a gigawatt of renewable energy, and would rank among the largest solar installations in the country. That’s about enough energy to power half of Seattle City Light’s customers during record peak demand.</p><p>"The project would also include <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/battery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>battery</span></a> storage, which is a critical component that allows electricity generated by solar power to be used at times when the sun isn’t shining.</p><p>"Producing <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RenewableEnergy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RenewableEnergy</span></a> at the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HanfordSite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HanfordSite</span></a> would mark a substantial new chapter for the land.</p><p>"The site covers 560 square miles, nearly half the size of Rhode Island, said Sean O’Brien, executive director of the renewable nonprofit Energy Forward Alliance. For decades, the government made plutonium for nuclear weapons there.</p><p>"Despite its history — and contamination — large swaths of the site are not <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/radioactive" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>radioactive</span></a>, O’Brien said. And local organizations like his and the Tri-City Development Council share a vision for the place to be a national hub of clean energy generation.</p><p>"The solar array and battery storage would make up just one portion, albeit a large one, of the site’s renewable energy potential, Reeploeg and O’Brien said. </p><p>"The partnership between federal officials and Hecate — representatives for which could not immediately be reached for comment — could sidestep major hurdles these types of massive projects face, said Glenn Blackmon, manager of Washington’s Energy Policy Office."</p><p><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/feds-pick-hanford-nuclear-site-for-massive-solar-farm/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">seattletimes.com/seattle-news/</span><span class="invisible">climate-lab/feds-pick-hanford-nuclear-site-for-massive-solar-farm/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SolarFarms" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SolarFarms</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SolarEnergy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SolarEnergy</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RenewablesNow" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RenewablesNow</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnergyStorge" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EnergyStorge</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Brownfield" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Brownfield</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WashingtonState" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WashingtonState</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SolarSundays" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SolarSundays</span></a></p>