Clean Energy Demonstration on Mine Land Technical Assistance
Thank you for your interest in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Clean Energy on Mine Land Technical Assistance Program administered by NREL. This program is no longer active. We apologize for any inconvenience.
We encourage you to explore the following resources that may support your clean energy on mine land project:
Loan Programs Office
DOE's Loan Programs Office (LPO) offers loans for energy-related projects that are typically $100 million or more and fall into one of their financing program categories. Under the Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program, LPO may provide loan guarantees to projects using a variety of eligible technologies. Learn more about the potential for LPO financing for your project through DOE Title 17. For Tribal and Alaska Native Corporation projects, learn more about the potential for LPO financing for your project through the Tribal Energy Financing Program.
Energy Communities Interagency Working Group
The Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (Energy Communities Interagency Working Group) focuses on identifying and delivering federal resources to revitalize the local economies of coal mining and power plant communities. Its webpage includes an online clearinghouse of federal funding that may support coal mining and power plant communities as well as other relevant resources, including technical assistance programs, tax credit eligibility maps, and case studies.
Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers
The Environmental Protection Agency and DOE’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers provide technical assistance via 17 centers across the nation to remove barriers and improve accessibility for communities with environmental justice concerns. The program also focuses on advancing clean energy on mine land and energy improvements in rural or remote areas. Technical assistance activities include providing training and other assistance to build capacity for navigating federal application systems, writing strong proposals, and effectively managing funding and guide funding awardees on community engagement, meeting facilitation, and translation and interpretation services.
Onsite Energy Program
DOE’s Onsite Energy Program is a new initiative to provide technical assistance for industrial facilities (may include active mining facilities) and other large energy users to increase the adoption of onsite clean energy technologies.
Tribal Energy Technical Assistance
DOE’s Tribal Energy Technical Assistance provides federally recognized Indian Tribes—including Alaska Native villages, Tribal energy development organizations, and other organized Tribal groups and communities—with technical assistance to advance Tribal energy projects.
Clean Energy to Communities
DOE’s Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) connects local governments, Tribes, electric utilities, and community-based organizations with national laboratory experts and customized, cutting-edge analysis to achieve clean energy systems that are reflective of local and regional priorities.
Past Webinars
In 2023, NREL organized and collaborated with other federal agencies to present three webinars covering a range of topics that might face developers working to deploy clean energy projects on current and former mine lands. Please find descriptions of the webinars and links to their recordings below.
May 9, 2023
View the Clean Energy Siting webinar
NREL presented an overview of the Clean Energy on Mine Land Technical Assistance Program, which provides no-cost technical assistance to applicants interested in developing clean energy technologies on active and former mine land. After briefly introducing the purpose and process for applying to the technical assistance, this webinar spent most of its time on site planning considerations for clean energy on mine land projects, using solar PV as an example technology. These considerations include renewable energy resources at a site, serving utility policies and power pricing, parcel size and available land area and land slope, soil type, water drainage, site access (roads), existing electrical infrastructure capacity, environmental constraints, and more. Altogether, participants learned about the scope of NREL's technical assistance effort, the advantages of mine land for clean energy, and factors for site planning for future Clean Energy on Mine Land projects.
Presenters:
- Ryan Shepard, resilience researcher, NREL
- Andy Walker, senior research fellow, NREL
June 14, 2023
View the National Environmental Policy Act Considerations webinar
DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations presented a webinar on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions. The webinar covered the key provisions of NEPA and the process for complying with NEPA in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, including the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA Implementing Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and DOE's NEPA Implementing Regulations (10 CFR Part 1021). Participants learned about the process for completing environmental assessments and environmental impact statements. This webinar was open to the public and focused on information relevant to the Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land.
Presenters:
- Gretchen Applegate, NEPA specialist, DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations
- Logan Sholar, natural resource specialist, U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
July 26, 2023
View the Potential Liability webinar
DOE OCED partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to present a webinar on RE-Powering America's Lands and liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). RE-Powering America's Land is an EPA initiative that encourages renewable energy development on current and formerly contaminated lands, landfills, and mine sites. Also known as "Superfund," CERCLA provides broad federal authority to respond directly, through a cleanup process, to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. Participants learned about the RE-Powering Initiative, as well as the liability structure of CERCLA, its relevance to mining sites, and tools to address liability issues at such sites. This webinar was open to the public and focused on information relevant to clean energy project development on current or former mine land.
Presenters:
- Lora Strine, RE-Powering America's Lands team leader, EPA
- Elisabeth Freed, senior cleanup enforcement policy advisor, EPA
Phil Page, attorney advisor, EPA
Contact
The email address for this Clean Energy on Mine Land Technical Assistance program is no longer being monitored. Please direct all future inquiries regarding Clean Energy on Mine Land to Engage Clean Energy on Mine Land.
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