The Nature Conservancy and the Cumberland Forest Restricted Partnership have introduced new agreements with Solar Tribe Growth and ENGIE to develop 14 photo voltaic vitality and three battery storage initiatives on 360 acres of former coal mines within the Appalachians. That is the second spherical of unpolluted vitality challenge bulletins from TNC’s Cumberland Forest Project in Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky.
The brand new initiatives might be developed on former coal mines, such because the floor coal mine pictured in Campbell County, Tennessee. Credit score: TNC/Cameron Davidson
The Cumberland Forest vitality initiatives goal to exhibit that builders can cost-effectively construct clear and renewable vitality on former mines whereas benefiting communities. They take an method to renewable vitality improvement that seeks to create advantages to local weather, conservation and communities – what TNC refers to because the “3Cs.” TNC solicited aggressive challenge proposals utilizing LevelTen Vitality, making certain that the chosen initiatives would meet 3C standards. Because the initiatives are designed and constructed within the coming years, they’re anticipated to supply elevated native tax income, short-term development job alternatives and a devoted fund to finance extra group advantages.
“When deciding on which corporations to work with, we sought those that have been prepared to push the boundaries of unpolluted vitality improvement with us,” says Brad Kreps, TNC Clinch Valley director. “Creating initiatives on former coal mines – and in a approach that engages with folks 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 important curiosity in bringing this imaginative and prescient to life.”
The brand new initiatives are anticipated to generate roughly 49 MW of photo voltaic vitality and 320 MW of battery storage.
Solar Tribe’s new proposed initiatives could be situated in Virginia and Tennessee. Solar Tribe plans to develop one 5-MW photo voltaic challenge and three utility-scale vitality storage techniques starting from 80 MW to 150 MW. The storage initiatives will improve grid reliability within the fast area and scale back the necessity for future grid upgrades — prices which are usually handed via to utility prospects.
“Finding photo voltaic and battery storage on former mine lands makes good sense to us,” stated 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 we have now to do is reimagine them for immediately’s vitality expertise.”
ENGIE plans to develop 13 community-scale photo voltaic initiatives on former mines in Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. These initiatives additionally make the most of incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, serving to maintain challenge prices down. ENGIE’s initiatives will vary from 1 to six MW in measurement and can enhance native entry to scrub energy.
“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. “Changing former coal mine websites into photo voltaic vitality services presents a singular alternative to remodel environmental challenges into important financial and social advantages. These initiatives not solely contribute to the discount of greenhouse fuel emissions but in addition generate employment alternatives, rejuvenate native communities, and improve entry to scrub vitality in areas the place it’s most wanted.”
These newly introduced agreements construct on 3C renewable vitality efforts already underway by TNC and photo voltaic builders, Solar Tribe and Dominion Vitality. Since 2021, Solar Tribe and Dominion Vitality have been conducting pre-development work with the objective of producing 140 MW of renewable vitality on eight current websites throughout the Cumberland Forest. The primary challenge anticipated to return on-line is a 10-MW photo voltaic array referred to as Wildcats Solar, situated in Clever County, Virginia. Proposed to be in development by 2026, the challenge is designed to supply clear energy and an estimated $800,000 in tax income to the group over the challenge’s lifetime. Different photo voltaic initiatives from the primary spherical of challenge bulletins are scheduled to return on-line by 2029.
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