Photo: Freepik
A more than $1 billion three-county solar project on one of Eastern Kentucky’s former coal mines got the stamp of approval Friday to start construction.
In an Aug. 1 order, the Kentucky Public Service Commission’s Electric Generation and Transmission Siting Board said BrightNight, a private renewable power company, could build a giant solar array on the former Starfire mine in Breathitt, Perry and Knott counties.
The order allows the first of four construction phases to begin, which will put a 210-megawatt solar facility on approximately 1,980 acres. Once all four phases are complete, Starfire will cover almost 8,000 acres and generate 800 megawatts of electricity, becoming what will likely be the state’s largest solar facility. A total investment figure has not been calculated.
BrightNight and Kentucky-based solar development firm Edelen Renewables projected construction during phase one would create 250 new, direct jobs that would generate more than $16 million in wages and benefits. Construction is expected to take between 12 and 18 months, from the beginning of next year until 2027, BrightNight Executive Vice President of Development David Gil told the Herald-Leader.
The project will transform an old coal mine into a different kind of power source, and reinvest in a community that has long been a leader in producing energy.
The Starfire mine operated from the 1960s through the 1990s, according to the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center. At its peak, Starfire employed almost 300 people and extracted more than three million tons of coal per year.
The area around Hazard became a regional hub for economic activity, but the mine’s closing before the turn of the century had dramatic effects on surrounding counties.
Over the past two decades, the area has been in a steady population decline and progressively worsening economic distress, according to the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center.
Gil and Edelen Renewables founder and CEO Adam Edelen said the mine site is an asset because the land is mostly clear and the area surrounding it has the infrastructure to again be an employment hub. Now, they await results of an interconnection study to ensure the new source of energy can safely connect to the grid before breaking ground.
“We’ve always felt that there’s a uniquely American debt owed to the coal miners and coal communities of Appalachia and Eastern Kentucky in particular,” Edelen said. “These are folks and communities that powered the industrial development of America for over 100 years. And so, we’ve reimagined – from coal to solar – that Eastern Kentucky can continue to power the American economy, particularly a greener, more renewable-focused economy.”
The remaining phases of construction to get the facility to an 800-megawatt capacity will need to go through the same application and approval process as phase one, Gil said. Once it’s determined the electricity from phase one can connect to the grid, the company will likely begin its application for phase two, he said.
The Nature Conservancy is continuing to work as an advisor on the project, said the nonprofit’s Kentucky Director David Phemister. The environmental organization, which has wanted to put more renewable energy sources on the grid, has consulted with electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian about solar and becoming an “offtaker,” or entity that purchases electricity from Starfire, he said.
To mitigate displaced wildlife from construction, the solar developer has proposed adding wildlife corridors through the site and said it would reforest at least 25 acres of land and add 10 acres of pollinator habitat to its final site design, the order said.
The board found the proposed solar facility had compatibility with the area’s scenic surroundings, will have no adverse impact on nearby property values and noise from the project’s construction phase would be intermittent and temporary to only the nearest neighbors.
With appropriate mitigation efforts, the board said traffic and road congestion are not anticipated from construction or operation of the solar farm.
The solar developer, according to the application and order, plans to encourage local hiring by asking its construction contractors to host job fairs and prioritizing the local labor force with partners like the Hazard Community & Technical College, local mining and reclamation companies and community foundations.
But local jobs at solar facilities have long been a point of contention in Eastern Kentucky.
Eric Dixon, a senior researcher at the Ohio Valley Research Institute, an independent, regional think tank, said in an email to the Herald-Leader it’s understandable local residents want the assurance jobs will be local.
Last December, Edelen Renewables said its solar facility in Martin County on the former Martiki mine site would employ about 400 workers. During industrial revenue bond negotiations, developers said they would target local residents for work. Only 47 of more than 400 workers were Martin County residents during peak construction, according to the Mountain Citizen.
Dixon said it’s reasonable to ask the developer and as part of the approvals process to have binding commitments to hiring local considering what happened in Martin County.
“The Order’s appraisal of the economic aspects of the project finds that the project will have a ‘net positive economic impact’ on the local area, which, while likely true, is a lower bar than the region deserves,” Dixon said. “If Southeast Kentucky’s economy is ever expected to catch up with the state, economic development projects in the region will need to be held to a higher standard than a hair better than ‘do no economic harm.'”
BrightNight has projects across the globe. It’s also developing the Frontier project in Central Kentucky’s Washington and Marion counties. Gil said construction on that project is anticipated to start this year with generation of 120 megawatts starting in summer 2027.
Solar projects across Fayette County
In Lexington, Edelen Renewables unveiled a proposal July 31 to put a solar farm on approximately 400 acres of a former city dump. If it gets the green light from city officials and other necessary sign-offs, it could be operational by 2027 and produce 100 megawatts in its first year. Power generated at that solar farm would go to Kentucky Utilities.
A city spokesperson said there will be a request for proposals posted soon for the site. In 2024, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton formed an internal committee to determine the feasibility of putting large-scale solar at the Haley Pike landfill.
But the city and whomever it picks to build the solar farm already have looming deadlines.
Solar projects, under the recently passed federal tax and spending plan, must begin construction within a year of July 4, 2025, or be operational by the end of 2027 to be eligible for certain tax credits. According to CNBC, the Big Beautiful Bill sunsets incentives for alternative energy sources and gives oil, gas and other companies access to federal land.
A set of new zoning ordinances passed by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council General Government and Planning Committee allows solar in certain areas, but bans large solar farms in the region’s agricultural zones. Those changes in land use regulation will be voted on by the full council Aug. 19.
Last December, the commission that regulates utilities in Kentucky approved a 384-acre solar farm between Interstate 64 and U.S. 60 in Eastern Fayette County near the Clark County line. That solar farm is being built by the East Kentucky Power Cooperative, a public utility.
Also last December, the Martin County solar project started commercially producing energy. Toyota North America previously agreed to purchase 100 megawatts of energy produced there and Shell Energy North America purchased the remaining 11 megawatts, the Herald-Leader reported.
source: msn
