Hundreds of millions of dollars to help coal communities, including $450 million for clean energy projects on current and former mining areas, have been announced by the White House on Tuesday.
The White House said the Department of Energy will also provide $16 million to the University of North Dakota and West Virginia University as they prepare to complete design studies for a domestic refinery that will extract rare earth and other critical minerals from coal ash, acid mine drainage and other mine waste.
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“This project will help strengthen American supply chains, revitalize energy communities, and reduce reliance on competitors like China,” the White House was quoted as saying in a statement.
11 federal agencies that would work in tandem on getting new resources into energy communities like former coal mining towns are also part of government action, while Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service will release guidance on Tuesday that will allow developers of clean energy projects and facilities to tap into billions of dollars in boneses, in addition to existing tax credits, it said.
The funding for this initiative comes from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the White House said.
Story was adapted from Reuters.
