Welcoming sun power in coal country
Reclaimed mine land makes way for a 111-megawatt solar facility.
For generations of Americans, coal was the way to heat furnaces and power the homes of the country. With coal mining’s modest beginning in Kentucky in 1820 with the opening of a commercial mine in Muhlenberg County, coal mining quickly became a significant factor in the state’s economy. Coal mines became an industry of note with railroads connecting mountain coal and timber operations with urban industrial centers.
As the nation’s reliance on coal dwindled, communities that relied on the industry were searching for a positive vision of what their future could look like.
Coal to solar
As with generational change, comes changes in the energy transition. Increased interest for revitalizing coal communities that helped build this country can now help pioneer a low carbon future.
For just over four years, Erich Miarka has been a development director at Savion, LLC (Savion), a Shell Group portfolio company. One of his first projects on the job was the Martin County Solar project, which is a project on a former surface coal mine in Eastern Kentucky.
Erich Miarka, Development Director, SavionI think it was a time when most people would have thought it to be a little
strange to develop a solar project on a former coal mine, but thankfully the vision and infrastructure were strong enough to make this a welcomed endeavor.
Martin County leadership were very interested in the solar project, and even more interested to create a resurgence of economic development opportunities. Historically, this county has been known as a traditionally coal producing county, the coal industry generating a majority of tax revenues and severance taxes, as well as the majority of jobs. With the decline of the coal industry, interest in renewable energy piqued mainly in how the local workforce can develop to meet needs of an energy transition.
Erich Miarka, Development Director, SavionA typical solar project of this size requires 250 to 400 construction workers for 14 to 18 months. This includes everything from equipment operators to electricians. Even folks with no solar-specific experience can work on a solar construction job.
The site to see
The Martin County Solar Project (MCSP) is a 111-megawatt (MW) solar facility, and Savion’s first project to be designed and owned by the company on former mine land.
Located on the old Martiki coal mine site in Pilgrim, Kentucky, MCSP is expected to produce enough energy to power the equivalent of approximately 18,500 Kentucky homes annually over the next 40 years.
What makes the repurposing of coal mines to solar feasible is the creative re-use of land that may not be suitable for more traditional forms of development, like factories or homes.
Since the land is no longer being mined, and not generating any revenue, the switch to solar can spur long-term benefits to project communities, such as creating new jobs in the renewable energy sector, increasing tax revenues, generating indirect economic impacts to local supply chains and businesses during construction and beyond, and providing cleaner, cost-effective electricity to the region’s power grid when compared to traditional energy sources.
Chasing the sun
Savion was acquired to expand Shell’s US solar portfolio. The long-term goal is to advance coal to solar in Appalachia by developing several similar projects ranging from 60 MW to 250 MW in Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio.
Erich Miarka, Development Director, SavionEnergy generation is not new to Kentucky, which has been providing coal to power the country for decades. We hope to support this state’s continued power tradition by creating new opportunities through solar that can contribute to the energy transition.