Agenda

Objectives:
1) Illustrate challenges and opportunities available to energy communities to retain/create jobs and economic prosperity by repurposing existing energy assets including mines for new purposes to identify promising technology replacements for energy producers to decarbonize. Illustrative examples include data centers and/or clean energy manufacturing on abandoned mine lands, energy storage facilities on sites of former coal power plants and storing hydrogen in abandoned oil & gas wells. Workforce/coursework development is also an essential part of community building and will be a focus of this workshop.

2) Amplify funding available through the annual appropriations, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding, particularly through U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other federal agencies for these purposes.

3) Engage community and technology leaders to discuss energy asset transition and workforce challenges for communities that have retired or soon-to-be-retired energy assets, including mines. The discussions will explore capacity building through new alternatives such as (but not limited to) data centers, nuclear power, and critical mineral processing to maintain jobs and the tax base while decarbonizing the economy, while also highlighting the workforce development challenges and needs. The workshop will spotlight funding opportunities through various government agencies for these purposes. Breakout discussions will help gather information for prioritizing any potential future funding that the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) could receive for community needs, including Pre-Front End Engineering and Design (Pre-FEED), and for addressing workforce challenges that include coursework development.

Capacity Building for Energy Assets Registration