Argonne National Laboratory. Image: US Department of Energy
The Biden Administration has announced $38 million (£30m) in funding to deploy clean energy infrastructure and help decarbonise four of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) national laboratories.
The Net Zero Labs (NZL) Pilot Initiative will lay the foundation for what is believed to be one of the first ever models for addressing hard-to-decarbonise industries and is expected to be a foundation of net zero solutions that can be replicated at facilities across the DOE, the federal government and state and local governments.
The four laboratories are Idaho National Laboratory, National Energy Technology Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Each of the DOE’s national laboratories houses heavy industrial facilities, energy-intensive data centres, reactors and other unique infrastructure that demands large amounts of continuous power.
The DOE intends to demonstrate that clean energy can power these critical components through the new initiative.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm said: “Transitioning to a net zero future will require slashing carbon pollution across all industries — from shipping to manufacturing to construction and even the operation of our national laboratories.
“DOE’s National Labs are leading by example to address some of the most energy-intensive, hardest-to-decarbonise federal facilities to reduce our nation’s carbon footprint — mitigating the disastrous impacts of climate change, lowering energy costs and supporting the growing clean energy workforce.”
