Two EM sites are among the recipients of grants totaling more than $104 million for 31 projects across the country to support energy conservation measures, saving taxpayers $29 million in the first year of operations and drastically reducing the federal carbon footprint.
Office of Environmental Management
January 30, 2024
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The Low-Activity Waste Facility houses the Hanford Site Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s two 300-ton glass melters used in the vitrification process. Hanford and the Savannah River Site are among the recipients to receive grants to support energy conservation measures.
Two EM sites are among the recipients of grants totaling more than $104 million for 31 projects across the country to support energy conservation measures, saving taxpayers $29 million in the first year of operations and drastically reducing the federal carbon footprint.
The Savannah River Site (SRS) and Hanford Site will receive grant funding from the Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) program managed by DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program. AFFECT helps agencies cut energy consumption through building electrification, geothermal heat pumps, onsite solar generation and battery energy storage, among other initiatives.
The SRS and Hanford projects are among 10 DOE projects selected for more than $18.6 million in grants.
As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the grants represent the first of three disbursements from the historic $250 million in funding for AFFECT in President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The 31 federal energy conservation and clean energy projects align with Biden’s 2021 executive order that calls for a 65% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from federal operations by 2030, 100% zero-emission vehicle acquisitions by 2035 and a net-zero building portfolio by 2045.
Following are the projects at SRS and Hanford that will receive AFFECT grants:
Savannah River Site
The grant funding will address an aging chilled water system at SRS, analyzing energy conservation measures and pursuing an energy savings performance contract to replace outdated chillers supporting critical buildings. With a focus on replacing traditional chillers with modern, water-cooled, variable flow magnetic bearing chillers, the project aims to reduce electricity consumption, aligning with DOE's net-zero goals and enhancing the site’s impact on achieving net-zero across the DOE complex.This project will help SRS implement a critical project — installing a 10-megawatt photovoltaic solar array and battery energy storage system on about 70 acres.
This initiative supports DOE's net-zero goals and commitment to net-zero building projects. Plans for the solar array have been in place since 2019, but funding constraints have hindered progress. SRS plays a pivotal role in achieving DOE's net-zero objectives. The project, a precursor to a larger 100-megawatt photovoltaic solar array, requires funding for utility energy service contract expertise and direct project execution.
Hanford Site
This Hanford Site project aims to replace evaporator diesel-powered boilers with electric boilers in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). Hanford has one of DOE's largest, most complex and energy-intensive missions — treating 56 million gallons of legacy tank waste stored in 158 of the 177 underground waste tanks across the site. DOE will use AFFECT funding to partially fund the addition of a new electric steam plant to supply steam for the WTP vitrification processes.
When the WTP begins operating, it will roughly double Hanford's energy demands. Addressing emissions at these facilities is key to Hanford's net-zero approach and helps create a waste treatment process less impactful to global climate change. This project has the potential to save DOE $15.6 million in fuel costs per year in full operations, saving $904 million in fuel costs over the life of the mission — at 2023 fuel prices with no escalation. Further, this proposal would help Hanford reduce its future greenhouse gas footprint by 43.3 million kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per year and 2.5 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent over the 60-year mission life.
-Contributor: David Sheeley
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