Hydrogen-Ready Direct Reduced Iron Plant and Electric Melting Furnace Installation  
OCED awarded the Hydrogen-Ready Direct Reduced Iron Plant and Electric Melting Furnace Installation, led by Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Corporation (Cleveland-Cliffs), with $9.5 million (of the total project federal cost share of up to $500 million) to begin Phase 1 activities. Cleveland-Cliffs plans to install a hydrogen-ready flex-fuel Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) plant and two electric melting furnaces at the Cleveland-Cliffs’ Middletown Works facility in Ohio. This project would reduce an estimated 1 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year. This project plans to demonstrate hydrogen-based ironmaking technology while replacing one of Cleveland-Cliffs’ seven operating blast furnaces and enabling Cleveland-Cliffs to further decarbonize rolled steel products for its customers in the U.S. automotive industry, thereby helping to decarbonize the automotive industry’s supply chain. During Phase 1 of the project, Cleveland-Cliffs will conduct preliminary design and engineering activities, provide documentation and reports necessary for OCED to complete the National Environmental Policy Act review, as well as engage community and labor stakeholders, which Cleveland-Cliffs will continue to do throughout the entirety of the project.  

View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here.  

Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project
OCED awarded the Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project, led by Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage, LLC, an affiliate of Rye Development, with more than $12 million (of the total project federal cost share of up to $81 million) to begin Phase 1 activities. The project plans to convert former coal mine land in Bell County, KY into a utility-scale 287 MW pumped storage hydroelectric facility. This closed-loop facility would consist of two artificial reservoirs at different elevations. Acting like a water battery, the facility would move water between the two reservoirs, storing up to eight hours of electricity when demand is low, and generating 287 MW during times of peak electricity demand, such as during extreme weather events. The Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project would be one of the first pumped storage hydropower facilities constructed in the United States in more than 30 years, and the first to be built on former mine land. During Phase 1 of the project, Lewis Ridge will begin work on budgeting, scheduling, permitting, land rights, and licensing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  

View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here.  

Mineral Basin Solar Project
OCED awarded the Mineral Basin Solar Project, led by Mineral Basin Solar Power, LLC (Mineral Basin), with more than $2 million (of the total project federal cost share of up to $90 million) to begin Phase 1 activities. Mineral Basin plans to develop 401 MW of solar photovoltaic (solar PV) generation on a site that was formerly used for subsurface coal mining in Clearfield County, PA. This project has the potential to be the largest solar farm in Pennsylvania to date and could produce enough clean energy to power more than 70,000 homes, increasing regional access to clean energy. During Phase 1, which is expected to last three months, Mineral Basin intends to carry out project planning, refine budgets and schedules, prepare for permitting, and conduct community benefits planning. 

View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here.   

Project Tundra  
OCED awarded Project Tundra, led by the Dakota Carbon Center East Project LLC (DCC East) and sponsored by the Minnkota Power Cooperative, with nearly $4.2 million (of the total federal cost share of up to $350 million) to begin Phase 1 activities. DCC East plans to install and operate Project Tundra, a commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility, to treat all flue gas from Unit 2 and a portion of the flue gas from Unit 1 at Milton R. Young Station, a lignite coal power plant near Center, ND. The project would be the first to use CCS technology at a coal plant in the United States with on-site geologic storage of the captured carbon dioxide (CO2) via Class VI wells. The project plans to deploy carbon capture technology using Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ KS-21 solvent to capture up to 4 million metric tons of CO2 each year—equivalent to the annual emissions of nearly 800,000 gasoline-powered cars. Captured CO2 would be safely and permanently stored beneath the power plant. During Phase 1 of the project, DCC East plans to develop a site evaluation summary and preliminary business plan, start community benefits planning, and continue project permitting. 

View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here. 

Rural Rebuild and Reconductor
OCED issued a grant award to the Rural Rebuild and Reconductor project, led by the Monongahela Power Company (Mon Power), committing up to $5 million in federal funding. This project plans to rebuild more than 23 miles of aged power distribution lines in Braxton, Clay, Grant, and Pocahontas counties in West Virginia and connect a two-mile tie line with the Petersburg Substation. Once upgraded, the distribution lines would enable Mon Power and Potomac Edison to reroute customers to adjacent circuits while performing necessary repairs. These upgrades would greatly increase grid reliability and resilience for 3,000 customers in rural communities in West Virginia. 

View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here.  

Transmission Line Rebuild 
OCED issued a grant award to the Transmission Line Rebuild project, led by Randolph Electric Membership Corporation, committing up to $4.9 million in federal funding. The project plans to replace deteriorating wooden transmission poles with galvanized steel poles, hardening a combined 21 miles of transmission lines in central North Carolina. The existing wood poles have been damaged due to the impacts of wildlife and other natural hazards and pose an increased risk of power outages. The project upgrades aim to reduce outages, improve infrastructure durability and longevity, and maximize maintenance efficiency and safety. The project also seeks to help to mitigate rate increases for disadvantaged communities. 

View the project fact sheet and community benefits commitments summary here. Learn more about engagement opportunities here.