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 Growth and ENGIE to construct 14 photo voltaic farms and three battery storage techniques throughout 360 acres in Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
This marks the second spherical of unpolluted power tasks launched below TNC’s Cumberland Forest Undertaking.
These tasks aren’t nearly clear power – they’re about proving that clear power will be developed on former Appalachian coal mines in a means that advantages the surroundings and native communities. The photo voltaic and storage hubs are anticipated to herald extra native tax income, create short-term development jobs, and set up a neighborhood fund to assist further native initiatives.
Brad Kreps, TNC Clinch Valley director, mentioned, “Growing tasks on former coal mines – and in a means that engages with individuals within the native space in order that communities can profit – takes ingenuity, ability, and willpower. 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 tasks will generate round 49 megawatts (MW) of photo voltaic power and 320 MW of battery storage – sufficient to energy 6,638 Appalachian houses yearly.
Solar Tribe’s tasks will probably be in Virginia and Tennessee. It’s planning one 5 MW photo voltaic undertaking and three utility-scale battery storage techniques starting from 80 MW to 150 MW. These storage tasks will enhance grid reliability and assist minimize prices for utility prospects by lowering the necessity for future grid upgrades.
“Finding photo voltaic and battery storage on former mine lands makes excellent sense to us,” mentioned Danny Van Clief, CEO of Solar Tribe Growth. “These websites and the communities they relaxation inside have powered our nation for greater than a century – all now we have to do is reimagine them for at present’s power expertise.”
ENGIE, in the meantime, is creating 13 community-scale photo voltaic tasks throughout Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky that may benefit from Inflation Discount Act incentives to assist maintain prices down. They’ll vary in dimension from 1 MW to six MW, bringing clear power entry to extra native communities.
“ENGIE is thrilled to collaborate on the event of those tasks 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 fuel emissions but additionally generate employment alternatives, rejuvenate native communities, and improve entry to wash power in areas the place it’s most wanted.”
This newest announcement builds on earlier first-round work by TNC, Solar Tribe, and Dominion Power to deliver renewable power to Appalachia. Since 2021, Solar Tribe and Dominion Power 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 Smart County, Virginia. Anticipated to start out development by 2026, it’s projected to generate $800,000 in tax income for the neighborhood over its lifetime. Further tasks from the primary spherical are set to be on-line by 2029.
Learn extra: Renewables supplied 90% of recent US capability in 2024 – FERC
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