75 megawatt solar farm could be built on the Savannah River Site - The Post and Courier

Solar farm could be built on the Savannah River Site | Savannah River Site | postandcourier.com

Since it was established nearly 75 years ago, the Savannah River Site has produced plutonium for national defense and NASA, tritium for national defense and several other products. Now, it could become the site of a clean energy producing solar farm.

The Department of Energy, the site's owner, will soon begin negotiations with Stellar Renewable Power LLC to construct a 75 megawatt solar farm on 500 acres at the site.

The lease is part of the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative established by the Department of Energy in response to a December 2021 executive order from President Joe Biden.

Biden's executive order calls on federal agencies to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2030 and to use agency land for the development of clean energy generation.

“President Biden directed the federal government to use its scale and procurement power, as the nation’s largest energy consumer and land manager, to support the growth of America’s clean energy industry and clean energy jobs and do so in ways that are good for our taxpayers and our communities,” Andrew Mayock, federal chief sustainability officer in the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said in a statement. “Through DOE’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, we will spur new clean electricity production, which is good for our climate, our economy and our national security.”

In addition to the Savannah River Site, the Department of Energy has already solicited bids to lease land at the Hanford site in Washington, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, the Nevada National Security Site and at the Idaho National Laboratory.

The department has selected developers for projects at the Idaho National Lab and the Nevada National Security Site.

The Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management — the DOE office managing the Savannah River Site — is committed to reaching the nation’s climate goals and combating climate change through clean energy production on its sites, EM Senior Advisor Candice Robertson said.

"We are excited about this solar-powered commercial project utilizing SRS land to produce clean energy, achieving site sustainability goals and bringing jobs and innovation to the state of South Carolina," Robertson said in a news release.

The department is analyzing the potential for additional solar farms at the site.

The analysis is expected to be completed in July.