NextEra Energy selected for WIPP solar power project

According to the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, NextEra Energy will have the opportunity to negotiate a realty agreement to deploy at least 150 megawatts of carbon pollution–free electricity to the grid with a 100-MW storage system on up to 1,800 acres of land at WIPP, the deep geologic repository for U.S. defense-related transuranic waste.

“We are excited about this large-scale solar and energy storage project moving forward at the WIPP site,” Carlsbad Field Office Site Manager Mark Bollinger said. “This project will help the site achieve its sustainability goals and will bring jobs and innovation to the state of New Mexico.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read more about the DOE’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative in the Fall 2024 issue of Radwaste Solutions, available soon.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Background: Launched in July 2023, the DOE’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative aims to repurpose certain DOE-owned lands, portions of which were previously used in the nation’s nuclear weapons program, into sites for clean energy generation. WIPP is the last of five DOE sites selected for solar energy projects during this first round of requests for qualifications (RFQ) under the initiative.

Previous solar projects were announced for the Hanford Site in Washington state; the Nevada Nuclear Security Site in Nevada; Idaho National Laboratory; and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

In August, the DOE issued a second RFQ for the Savannah River Site that opens the selection process to all carbon-free electricity projects, including nuclear energy. At the time, the DOE said it was also open to considering proposals that include development of co-located loads, such as data centers, that would directly offtake the carbon-free energy generated on DOE property.

The RFQ for carbon pollution–free projects at WIPP was issued in April and closed in June of this year.

Next steps: The DOE said it will continue to engage and partner with industry, tribal nations, communities, stakeholders, regulators, and others to implement a process for further development of clean energy projects on DOE-owned land.