DOE Grants $129 million toward Cuyahoga County Clean Energy Microgrids
An Ohio county that is in the midst of a multiyear plan to create a microgrid utility gained a huge fiscal jolt of energy with a $129 million federal grant announced this week.
Cuyahoga County is the beneficiary of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant through the Climate Pollution Reduction program, according to the DOE statement. The money will fund two distinct measures: One is focused on installing 63 MW of solar power on landfill and brownfield sites, along with 10 MW of battery storage, while the other effort will restore natural habitat, expand tree coverage and create pollinator habitats within the county.
For nearly five years, Cuyahoga County leaders have worked to move its Lake Erie area communities away from coal-fired power generation and toward a clean energy microgrid utility system. In December 2023, county councilors approved a 10-year contract with Compass Energy Platform, which will act as operator of the microgrid utility, called Cuyahoga Green Energy, once it’s deployed, according to reports.
Construction on the three microgrid sites is expected to begin next year and be operational in 2026 and 2027, Compass Energy Platform CEO Rick Bolton previously said. The microgrids will be connected and located in Euclid, Brooklyn and the Aerozone region near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
The DOE funding is split three ways with close to $30 million going to Cuyahoga County, $20 million to the city of Cleveland and $80 million to the city of Painesville.
“With these resources, we will be able to expand our solar infrastructure, reduce our reliance on fossil fuel and decrease greenhouse gas emissions,” Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne said in a statement. “Thank you to the Biden-Harris administration for delivering this investment in Cuyahoga County’s future. This award underscores our commitment to climate leadership and to policies and programs that pave the way for a cleaner, greener and more sustainable future for all.”
Municipal utilities in Cleveland and Painesville also will utilize the funding for the regional effort to decarbonize their power generation resources. Painesville will replace a coal-fired power plant that has been in use since 1888, although it is used currently only as a peaker plant, according to the Cuyahoga County release.
The DOE grant will replace that with a 35-MW solar and 10-MW battery energy backup system.
“The grant is instrumental to the sustainability of our public power system,” Painesville City Manager Douglas L. Lewis said. “The funding will enable us to transfer to an environmentally friendly, efficient and cost-effective source of power for our residents.”
The movement toward unifying Cuyahoga County’s clean energy aspirations and creating microgrids goes back to 2019. The county government formed Cuyahoga Green Energy two years later, becoming the first new county utility in more than 75 years nationwide, according to reports.
