Biden Commits $450 Mn To Clean Energy Initiatives At Coal Mines

As part of his ongoing efforts to combat climate change, President Joe Biden's administration is making USD 450 million available for solar farms and other clean energy initiatives across the nation at the sites of current or former coal mines.

According to the White House, the 2021 infrastructure legislation will fund up to five projects nationwide, with at least two designated for solar farms.

The White House also said that developers of renewable energy projects will be able to take advantage of billions of dollars in new bonuses, in addition to investment and production tax credits made available by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. 

The bonuses will “incentivise more clean energy investment in energy communities, particularly coal communities,” which have been harmed by a decade-plus decline in US coal production, as per the White House.

The measures are part of the Biden administration's efforts to transition the United States economy to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power while shifting away from coal and other fossil fuels that emit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

The initiatives are inspired by Biden's visit last summer to a former coal-fired power plant in Massachusetts that is transitioning to offshore wind power. Biden cited the former Brayton Point power plant in Somerset, Massachusetts, as the embodiment of the shift to renewable energy that he desires but has struggled to achieve in his first two years in office.

“It's very clear that... the workers who powered the previous century of industry and innovation can power the next,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, whose department will oversee the new grant programme.

Granholm told reporters on Monday that former mining areas in Appalachia and other parts of the nation have long had the infrastructure, workforce, expertise and “can-do attitude” to produce energy.

Granholm stated that up to five clean energy initiatives would be funded at current and former mines. The demonstration projects are meant to serve as models for future development, “providing knowledge and experience that catalyse the next generation of clean energy on my land projects,” according to the Energy Department.