The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Cumberland Forest Restricted Partnership are turning former Appalachian coal mines into clear power hubs. They only introduced new agreements with Solar Tribe Improvement and ENGIE to construct 14 photo voltaic farms and three battery storage methods throughout 360 acres in Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
This marks the second spherical of unpolluted power initiatives launched beneath TNC’s Cumberland Forest Venture.
These initiatives aren’t nearly clear power – they’re about proving that clear power will be developed on former Appalachian coal mines in a method that advantages the surroundings and native communities. The photo voltaic and storage hubs are anticipated to herald extra native tax income, create short-term building jobs, and set up a neighborhood fund to assist extra native initiatives.
Brad Kreps, TNC Clinch Valley director, mentioned, “Creating initiatives on former coal mines – and in a method that engages with individuals within the native space in order that communities can profit – takes ingenuity, talent, and dedication. In the end, we chosen Solar Tribe and ENGIE, two skilled builders which have an excellent curiosity in bringing this imaginative and prescient to life.”
As soon as on-line, these initiatives will generate round 49 megawatts (MW) of photo voltaic power and 320 MW of battery storage – sufficient to energy 6,638 Appalachian properties yearly.
Solar Tribe’s initiatives will likely be in Virginia and Tennessee. It’s planning one 5 MW photo voltaic undertaking and three utility-scale battery storage methods starting from 80 MW to 150 MW. These storage initiatives will enhance grid reliability and assist reduce prices for utility prospects by decreasing the necessity for future grid upgrades.
“Finding photo voltaic and battery storage on former mine lands makes good sense to us,” mentioned Danny Van Clief, CEO of Solar Tribe Improvement. “These websites and the communities they relaxation inside have powered our nation for greater than a century – all we now have to do is reimagine them for as we speak’s power expertise.”
ENGIE, in the meantime, is creating 13 community-scale photo voltaic initiatives throughout Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky that may make the most of Inflation Discount Act incentives to assist hold prices down. They’ll vary in measurement from 1 MW to six MW, bringing clear power entry to extra native communities.
“ENGIE is thrilled to collaborate on the event of those initiatives with The Nature Conservancy,” says Kristen Fornes, ENGIE head of distributed photo voltaic and storage. “These initiatives not solely contribute to the discount of greenhouse gasoline emissions but in addition generate employment alternatives, rejuvenate native communities, and improve entry to scrub power in areas the place it’s most wanted.”
This newest announcement builds on earlier first-round work by TNC, Solar Tribe, and Dominion Vitality to convey renewable power to Appalachia. Since 2021, Solar Tribe and Dominion Vitality have been engaged on plans to generate 140 MW of renewable power throughout eight websites within the Cumberland Forest. The primary undertaking, Wildcats Photo voltaic, is a ten MW array deliberate for Sensible County, Virginia. Anticipated to start out building by 2026, it’s projected to generate $800,000 in tax income for the neighborhood over its lifetime. Extra initiatives from the primary spherical are set to be on-line by 2029.
Learn extra: Renewables supplied 90% of latest US capability in 2024 – FERC
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