DOE-EM-EFCOG-ECA WORKFORCE ROUNDTABLE AT HANFORD; ECA KICKS OFF THIRD NEW NUCLEAR FORUM TONIGHT

ECA Staff | 05/07/2024

Today, DOE-EFCOG-ECA is holding the third workforce roundtable meeting in the Tri-Cities with the communities that host Hanford, the largest EM-managed site in the country with the largest budget, likely the longest ongoing mission and consequently, the greatest long-term workforce needs.  We look forward to welcoming a diverse group of local, Tribal, and state government leaders, the contractor leadership, DOE leadership, and others to focus on improving training, recruiting, retention and to address the issues that impact people working at the site today as well as those that may work there in the future.

These workforce roundtables grew from a discussion between Ike White (EM-1) and other EM leaders, and the ECA Board at Waste Management Symposium in 2022. It began by discussing general issues and turned into a long, focused discussion on how best to assess and address workforce issues at every DOE site.  That initial meeting has since led to several engagements with DOE contractor leadership, a data compilation of hiring needs for each site’s 5-year projections broken out by technical specialty, and several in-person meetings in host communities across the DOE nuclear complex. These sessions have been attended by elected officials, DOE-HQ, DOE leadership at the site, DOE contractor leadership at the site, Tribal leaders, Chambers of Commerce, unions, educators, economic development professionals, homebuilder associations, and others invested in the long-term health of the community, State and region supporting EM/DOE’s mission. The efforts to bring everyone together have yielded excellent ideas for addressing our shared challenges. 

The Tri-Cities are the third community to host this workforce discussion, following Los Alamos in August 2023, and the Savannah River Site (SRS) in December 2023. Next week, ECA, DOE and EFCOG will return to SRS on May 17th for our second workforce-focused discussion with those host communities.  We intend to follow up on the recommendations and action items that came out of our first meeting in Aiken in December 2023.

The partnership between EFCOG (DOE contractors), ECA (DOE host communities), the Department, educators from around the sites, and the workforce grows stronger through these meetings.  From that ECA Board meeting in Phoenix and follow-on sessions at the Cleanup Workshops, there is now clear recognition that when we work together, we are better able to identify key issues and improve the approach to workforce development.  We have moved from “we cannot take action here” to “how can we collaborate to make the site work better for our workforce?” – a real breakthrough. 

This evening ECA is also hosting the welcome reception in the Tri-Cities to kick off our third annual New Nuclear Forum: Building Nuclear Partnerships and Projects. 

TOMORROW! ECA's New Nuclear Forum: Building Nuclear Partnerships and Projects, May 8-9, 2024 in Kennewick, WA

ECA is excited to be hosting its third New Nuclear Forum, the only meeting designed to bring together DOE, federal, state, local and tribal governments and policymakers with developers, utilities, regulators, industry, and academia to identify opportunities, challenges and to build the partnerships necessary to support nuclear development.

Communities across the country are considering nuclear projects for many reasons - from diversifying regional economies, creating clean energy jobs or meeting carbon reduction goals, to increasing energy security and rebuilding the U.S. supply chain.  Some communities have a familiarity with nuclear energy projects, while others are just beginning to evaluate potential interest.  The ECA Forum is designed to enable shared learning so that local, State and Tribal governments evaluating nuclear projects can be meaningfully engaged - and prepared - to match the strengths and needs of their communities with new nuclear opportunities.  

QUESTIONS?
For any questions, comments, or to learn more about the ECA New Nuclear Forums, please contact Kara Colton, ECA Director of Nuclear Policy, at kara.colton@energyca.org or Faith Sanchez, ECA Program Director, at faiths@energyca.org.

DOE TO HOST INFORMATION DAY FOR GENERATING CLEAN ENERGY AT SAVANNAH RIVER SITE

Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative advances as the U.S. Department of Energy will host an information day on potential use of Savannah River Site land for utility-scale energy

AIKEN, S.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will host an information day on May 23 for the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative for utility-scale energy projects within the 310-square-mile Savannah River Site (SRS).

In March, DOE issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative at SRS to evaluate qualified clean energy developers interested in leasing DOE-owned land for solar-powered commercial clean energy projects. Proposals for the RFQ were due by April 19.

Prior to issuing the RFQ, DOE hosted an information day at SRS on Feb. 29 for parties interested in submitting a response to a request for information (RFI) released in October. This request invited industry, government and community members to comment on the potential use of SRS land for carbon-pollution-free electricity (CFE) projects.

The information day on May 23 will be open to the public and will include discussions on the opportunities for CFE projects of 200 megawatts or larger at SRS. DOE is soliciting industry interest for these projects to be built and operated on DOE-owned land at SRS.

The Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative will help achieve President Joe Biden’s climate goals and the directive in Executive Order 14057 for agencies to use their properties for the development of new clean electricity generation.

SRS, one of several DOE Office of Environmental Management sites engaged in environmental cleanup across the United States, is supporting efforts to reach CFE and site sustainability goals.

More information on Cleanup to Clean Energy can be found here.

RSVP to the information day by submitting the attendee(s) name via email to EMCleanEnergy@em.doe.gov.

Click the blue box below for details on the information day:

NEW MEDIA:

Gone Fission Nuclear Report: K-25 Reunion: Recalling Nuclear History

May 6, 2024 | S4 E9

On April 27, 2024, more than 650 former workers at the historic K-25 gaseous diffusion plant in Oak Ridge, TN, came together for their first-ever reunion. As Daniel Dassow wrote in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, it was the first time many had driven their private cars into the complex, the first time they weren’t required to show a badge and perhaps the first time they had seen K-25 as a field site with no large buildings left. In this week’s Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, Host Michael Butler takes a look at this unique get-together and joins attendees in remembering their historic careers. Our guest is former K-25 Plant Manager Harold Conner.

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

ECA Forum: Building Nuclear Partnerships & Projects

May 8-9, 2024 | Kennewick, WA

Register Here | Agenda | Sponsorship Information

National Academies: Leveraging Community Benefit Frameworks: Empowering Communities to Benefit from Federally Funded Energy Projects

May 16-17, 2024 | Washington, D.C.

Register Here | Agenda

2024 National Cleanup Workshop

September 16-18, 2024 | Crystal Gateway Marriott (Arlington, VA)

More Information Here

Check out ECA's latest report! 

DISPOSAL DRIVES CLEANUP: RE-ENERGIZING MOMENTUM FOR DISPOSAL SOLUTIONS FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE

This report calls on the Department of Energy to launch the initiative to develop the actual waste disposition approaches. The Department could potentially save hundreds of billions of dollars in cleanup costs by using its available tools and implementing the report’s recommendations.