The Idaho National Laboratory – credit, DoE
Across the nation, land set aside for the purpose of possibly destroying the world is now welcoming infrastructure meant to save it.
Sites managed by the Dept. of Energy’s nuclear weapons division are now playing host to solar farms that should be able to power thousands of homes.
As part of a government program called Cleanup to Clean Energy, the Idaho National Laboratory, though never having hosted nuclear weapons itself, will soon be the site of a 400-megawatt solar farm spread across 2,800 acres.
Though the project timeline hasn’t been released, a lease was negotiated for the INL project with Massachusetts-based solar developer NorthRenew Energy for 300 megawatts of solar power.
Another developer called Spitfire was awarded a lease for 100 megawatts and another 500 of battery storage, according to Elektek.
Other locations including the Hanford site in Washington state, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, the Nevada National Security Site in Nevada, and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, are all considered strong candidates for the program.
“Working closely with community leaders and private sector partners, we’re cleaning up land once used in our nuclear deterrence programs and deploying the clean energy solutions we need to help save the planet and strengthen our energy independence,” said US Energy of Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
None of these sites ever hosted nuclear weapons, but were instead the sites for testing, training, and production of nuclear weapons materials such as plutonium, or of its disposal. US Puts Solar Panels on Old Nuclear Weapons Sites for Powering 70,000 Homes
