The U.S. Department of Energy plans to build a 1 GW solar power plant at the former top-secret nuclear site of the «Manhattan Project» in Washington state. As a reminder, «Manhattan Project» — is the code name for the US nuclear weapons development program, which began in September 1942.
The Department of Energy plans to partner with Hecate Energy to repurpose the 8,000-acre Hanford federal land site. This project is planned to be implemented as part of the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative launched in July 2023. The program is aimed at repurposing parts of the land owned by the Department of Energy for clean energy production. Among other things, the areas previously used in the US nuclear weapons program are subject to conversion.
Hecate Energy was selected on a competitive basis. The Department of Energy and Hecate Energy will negotiate a real estate agreement, and during this period, the Department may cancel its selection for any reason.
The future Hanford solar site in Washington State, founded in 1943, was a top-secret site for the Manhattan Project during World War II. It was here that nuclear reactors produced plutonium for the world’s first atomic bombs. It is located in a part of the semi-arid desert along the Columbia River.
«The Department of Energy is transforming thousands of acres of land at our Hanford plant into a thriving center for carbon-free solar energy production, leading by example in cleaning up our environment and creating new economic opportunities for local communities,» said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
Source: electrek