The Department of Energy is looking for ways to streamline the process of transferring unneeded land for new uses at Hanford and other sites that have environmentally clean property.
It is moving its Asset Revitalization Initiative into Phase II with new leadership and a plan that includes promoting public-private partnerships and commercial opportunities. It also calls for engaging local communities as decisions are made about land as environmental cleanup is completed.
The Tri-City Development Council has asked for 1,341 acres of Hanford land next to Richland city limits for economic development to help replace jobs being lost at Hanford. It is joined in the request by Richland, the Port of Benton and Benton County.
About 10 percent of Hanford land, including the land requested by TRIDEC, is planned for industrial use. Most of the 586-square-mile nuclear reservation is to be used for preservation or conservation as environmental cleanup is completed from the past production of weapons plutonium.
Among goals of the task force is to focus on pilot projects across the nation, including streamlining the land transfer process to accelerate commercial development at Hanford, according to a presentation to the Energy Communities Alliance.
The presentation also discussed continuing DOE efforts to extend the life of its power purchase agreements to 30 years.
That is a key provision as proposals for using industrial land at Hanford for clean energy production are considered. Having long-term power purchase agreements in place could make developing renewable energy production at Hanford economically feasible, said Gary Petersen, TRIDEC vice president for Hanford programs.
DOE has announced that Cynthia Anderson has been picked to lead the Asset Revitalization Initiative. She was the chief operations officer for the DOE Office of Environmental Management.
Under her leadership, representatives from across DOE will continue to work together to support reuse of DOE land for reindustrialization, manufacturing, clean energy development, nature preserves and educational centers, the announcement from Undersecretary Thomas D'Agostino said.
"Cynthia has a proven track record in the department as being able to get things done," D'Agostino said in the announcement.
The initiative's task force will focus on specific steps to meet goals that include accelerating the shift to multiple users of sites, promoting DOE's clean energy goals, streamlining the transfer processes to meet timetables necessary for private-sector investment and engaging interested parties to generate the best ideas, he said.
-- Annette Cary: 582-1533; acary@tricityherald.com
