DOE Invests $1.4 Million to Provide Workforce Development Opportunities in Energy Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) today announced $1.4 million in federal funding for 14 local organizations and universities representing communities across the country that will each create a roadmap toward repurposing their existing energy assets. The Capacity Building for Repurposing Energy Assets initiative assists communities where a significant portion of their local economy has historically been supported by energy assets, such as coal, oil, and/or natural gas facilities and accompanying equipment and infrastructure. 

The 14 projects were selected—along with eight projects previously announced in January 2024—to help communities build technical capacity and develop a workforce necessary to help revitalize energy systems, address environmental impacts, and tackle challenges associated with energy assets that have been retired, or are slated for retirement. These projects support the broader DOE mission of ensuring efficient transformation of the energy system while prioritizing labor and community engagement.

“FECM is proud to now be partnering with a total of 22 local energy communities to advance a clean energy and industrial economy through our Capacity Building for Repurposing Energy Assets program,” said Brad Crabtree, Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. “These local projects are helping provide a renewed path forward for communities that are impacted by energy asset closures, capitalizing on the skillsets of the existing workforce and remaining infrastructure to drive regional economic growth and technological innovation.” 

The retirement of energy assets means that energy transmission and distribution infrastructure, electrical interconnection equipment, site and permitting licenses, and other related infrastructure may be available for alternative uses. At the same time, these communities must find opportunities to replace lost revenues and provide jobs for highly specialized workers. The Capacity Building for Repurposing Energy Assets initiative is providing these communities access to planning and other resources—supporting their active participation in crafting their economic and clean energy futures.

The following organizations were each selected to receive $100,000 in federal funding to develop plans to evaluate options for repurposing their community’s energy assets:

• Indiana County Thrives (Indiana, Pennsylvania): Evaluating the development of an industrial ecosystem among four coal-fired generating units at the Florence, Pennsylvania Conemaugh Plant, brownfields, and abandoned lands.
• Woodland Community Land Trust (Clairfield, Tennessee): Assessing repowering coal mines in Campbell and Claiborne Counties as pumped storage hydropower or solar energy facilities.
• Four Corners Economic Development Corporation (Farmington, New Mexico): Evaluating carbon capture and utilization technology on the Four Corners Generating Station near Fruitland, New Mexico, with skills training facilitated by San Juan College's School of Energy.
• Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (Evansville, Indiana): Evaluating the economic impact of converting the A.B. Brown & F.B. Culley Generating Stations from coal to gas-powered stations while exploring carbon capture, utilization and storage, hydrogen, renewables, biofuels, and clean ammonia technologies.
• Itasca Economic Development Corporation (Grand Rapids, Minnesota): Developing a strategic action plan to retire the last two of four units at the Boswell Energy Center in Cohasset, Minnesota.
• Joseph City Foundation (Joseph City, Arizona): Assessing the economic opportunities for the area after closure of the city’s Cholla Power Plant.
• Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County (Jefferson, Ohio): Exploring the development of a new manufacturing and economic epicenter—Ashtabula Industrial Park—in Ashtabula and the greater Cleveland, Ohio region.
• Pasa Sustainable Agriculture (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania): Evaluating the repurposing of abandoned oil and gas wells to provide heat for sustainable tunnel farming at Gruber Farms in Shippenville, Pennsylvania.
• Texas A&M International University (Laredo, Texas): Evaluating the repurposing of oil and gas wells in Permian and Eagle Ford shale plays, including surface facilities, for sustainable geothermal energy production.
• Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (Ashley, Pennsylvania): Exploring the use of flooded mine pools at the abandoned Morea Mine Complex in Frackville, Pennsylvania to cool data centers and store thermal energy in conjunction with a new solar farm.
• University of California, Riverside (Riverside, California): Assessing the recovery of rare earth elements and other critical minerals and materials from coal fly ash.
• Pueblo Economic Development Corporation (Pueblo, Colorado): Exploring advanced small modular nuclear technology for the city’s Comanche Coal Generating Station.
• Penn State Extension, College of Agricultural Sciences (University Park, Pennsylvania): Assessing the transformation of abandoned oil and gas wells in Venango and Mercer Counties for renewable energy production—specifically targeting the agricultural sector's energy needs—utilizing a closed-loop geothermal system.
• Hopi Tribe Economic Development Corporation (Flagstaff, Arizona): Evaluating the rehabilitation of the former Winslow Industrial Building in Winslow, Arizona to produce battery elements for energy storage systems and electric vehicles to replace lost mining revenues.

The Capacity Building for Repurposing Energy Assets initiative is managed by ENERGYWERX in partnership with DOE, a collaboration made possible through an innovative Partnership Intermediary Agreement set up by DOE's Office of Technology Transitions. This agreement enables ENERGYWERX to broaden DOE’s engagement with innovative organizations and non-traditional partners, facilitating the rapid development, scaling, and deployment of clean energy solutions. Questions about the initiative can be submitted to [email protected].  

FECM minimizes environmental and climate impacts of fossil fuels and industrial processes while working to achieve net-zero emissions across the U.S. economy. Priority areas of technology work include carbon capture, carbon conversion, carbon dioxide removal, carbon dioxide transport and storage, hydrogen production with carbon management, methane emissions reduction, and critical minerals production. To learn more, visit the FECM website, sign up for FECM news announcements, and visit the National Energy Technology Laboratory website.