The Nature Conservancy and the Cumberland Forest Limited Partnership have announced new agreements with Sun Tribe Development and Engie to develop 14 solar energy and three battery storage projects on 360 hectares of former coal mines in the Appalachen. This is the second round of announcements of clean energy project from TNCs Cumberland Forest Project In Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky.
The new projects will be developed on former coal mines, such as the Surface Coal Mine depicted in Campbell County, Tennessee. Credit: TNC/Cameron Davidson
The Cumberland Forest Energy projects are intended to demonstrate that developers can build clean and renewable energy on former mines and at the same time benefit communities. They use an approach to the development of renewable energy that tries to create benefits for climate, nature conservation and communities – what TNC calls the “3CS”. TNC asked for competing project proposals with the help of level energy, so that the selected projects would meet 3C criteria. Since the projects have been designed and built in the coming years, they are expected to offer increased local tax revenues, jobs in the short term and a dedicated fund to finance extra community benefits.
“When selecting which companies they should work together, we sought those who were willing to push the boundaries of the development of clean energy,” says Brad Kreps, director of TNC Clinch Valley. “Developing projects on former coal mines – and in a way that deals with people in the area so that communities can benefit – takes ingenuity, skill and determination. In the end we selected Sun Tribe and Engie, two experienced developers who have a great interest in bringing this vision to life. “
The new projects are expected to generate around 49 MW of Solar Energy and 320 MW battery storage.
The new proposed projects of Sun Tribe would be in Virginia and Tennessee. Sun Tribe plans to develop one 5-MW solar project and three energy storage systems on utility scale, ranging from 80 MW to 150 MW. The storage projects will improve the reliability of the grid in the immediate region and reduce the need for future gridgrades – costs that are usually passed on to customers of utilities.
“Finding solar and battery storage on the former Mijnland is completely logical for us,” says Danny van Clev, CEO of Sun Tribe Development. “These sites and the communities in which they rest have our country driven for more than a century – all we have to do can be presented again for today’s energy technology.”
Engie is planning to develop 13 solar projects on the community on former mines in Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. These projects also use stimuli of the Inflation reduction Acthelp to keep project costs low. The ENGIE projects vary from 1 to 6 MW in size and increase local access to clean electricity.
“Engie is pleased to work together on the development of these projects with Nature Conservancy,” says Kristen Fores, Engie Head of Distributed Solar and Storage. “Converting former coal mine locations into solar energy facilities offers a unique opportunity to transform environmental challenges into important economic and social benefits. These initiatives not only contribute to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but also generate employment opportunities, rejuvenate local communities and improve access to clean energy in areas where the most needed. “
These newly announced agreements build on 3C efforts for renewable energy that are already underway by TNC and Zonne developers, Sun Tribe and Dominion Energy. Since 2021, Sun Tribe and Dominion Energy have done pre-development work with the aim of generating 140 MW of renewable energy at eight existing locations in the Cumberland Forest. The first project that is expected to come online is a 10-MW solar array Wildcats SolarLocated in Wise County, Virginia. The project was designed to be in construction by 2026 to deliver clean electricity and an estimated $ 800,000 in tax revenues to the community during the life of the project. Other solar projects from the first round of project announcements are planned to come online by 2029.
News item from TNC