Renewable energy on former mines is big win for Kentucky and the nation | Opinion

Clean energy has a land problem. Utility-scale solar and wind installations need a lot of space, anywhere from tens to thousands of acres. These wide-open spaces are often found in rural areas — on farms and pastures and in forests and grasslands.

We need clean energy to power our future while addressing climate change, and it is imperative that we increase the scale and pace of renewable energy development. But siting matters, and the loss of farms and forests to solar energy is understandably concerning to local communities, including here in Kentucky. Our forests and fields are what make home feel like home. They are essential to our identities and our economies. What we gain from renewable energy, in terms of job opportunities, cleaner air and climate benefits, can feel pitted against losses to productive farmland and natural lands.

But according to a new report from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), there’s an untapped, underappreciated solution to this problem, one that respects both rural communities and the need to access large areas for renewable energy development. Across the country, there are 20 million acres of former industrial lands, known as brownfields, that are considered suitable for clean energy expansion. TNC estimates that these areas, which include Kentucky’s former surface coal mines, cover more than 300,000 acres here in the commonwealth. Studies have shown that brownfields in the United States could host enough clean energy projects to power most U.S. homes.

Despite this, clean energy developers have largely shied away from such projects, worried about costs, legal risks and possible site complications. For example, it can be time-intensive and costly to obtain site control, and soil stability and other site conditions may be challenging. Currently, only a handful of renewable projects—about 500 relatively small projects nationwide—are built atop mines and other industrial sites.

Now, however, according to TNC’s Mining the Sun report, a host of new federal incentives and tax breaks can offset nearly all the additional costs associated with this clean energy on former industrial sites. These incentives include the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which offers $250 billion to repurpose old coal and oil infrastructure for clean energy, and the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provides $500 million in incentives for large-scale wind and solar projects on former mines.

Kentucky has a chance to be a leader in this space, and there are two promising projects underway. One excellent example of smart renewable siting is the BrightNight Starfire Renewable Energy Center in Perry, Knot and Breathitt counties. The project brings together TNC, electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian and renewable energy company BrightNight. The former Starfire coal mine will be converted into a 7,000-acre solar project (the largest solar on mine land project envisioned to date), powering the equivalent of 30,000-50,000 homes annually in the first phase alone. Another great example is the Martin County Solar Project, with anticipated completion in 2024.

While developing these sites is not easy, former coal mines do offer some attractive benefits to utility companies and developers beyond lower siting conflicts. Often, the land has already been cleared and graded, and it typically comes equipped with transmission lines and roads. Given the current bottlenecks in the electrical utility supply chain, with long delays and high costs for equipment such as transformers, any existing on-site energy infrastructure is a big advantage.

Many former coal mines struggle to find other uses. They may sit vacant for years or decades. Bringing energy development back to these sites can provide benefits like job opportunities for workers affected by the decline in coal and increased tax revenue for the communities where they are located. TNC also stresses the importance of companies contributing to a local community fund, ensuring local residents directly benefit from renewable energy development.

These installations also offer rural communities something a bit more intangible, but perhaps no less valuable. Kentucky’s coal mining communities have supported the country’s energy needs for generations. Transitioning rural lands from former coal mines to renewable energy sites respects this legacy while providing new and much-needed economic opportunities.

Siting renewable energy on former coal mines makes sense for the climate, for communities and for land conservation. Thanks in part to new federal incentives, it makes economic sense, too. There are up to 180,000 acres of former mines that could be transitioned to solar energy projects here in Kentucky—so let’s start building.

David Phemister is the Kentucky State Director of The Nature Conservancy.

This story was originally published May 29, 2024 at 7:00 AM.