Renewable Energy Transition solar array on a sand mine in Byron, CA. © Steve Proehl/Getty Images
If clean energy continues to be sited the way it always has been, the U.S. will need an area the size of Texas to meet our climate targets. Developing new large-scale energy projects on natural lands has long been thought to be the most affordable option, but it also can create local conflict and negatively impact nature, slowing down the clean energy transition.
Fortunately, there’s a promising solution. Mining the Sun, a report by The Nature Conservancy, suggests that siting clean energy infrastructure on degraded lands like mining sites, landfills and brownfields can be a win-win solution for climate, conservation and communities.
The Mining the Sun report tells us the benefits of building clean energy projects on mine lands, brownfields and landfills. It offers two case studies of solar projects being built on mine lands that TNC has helped catalyze and includes overviews of relevant state and federal policies, economic analyses, community engagement best practices and maps showing brownfield and mine sites viable for energy development.
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Repurposing mines and brownfields for clean energy can reduce costs, accelerate the clean energy transition and protect wildlife.
DOWNLOADQuote: Nels Johnson
Renewable energy development on mine lands is an exceptionally promising avenue to produce clean energy in a way that respects communities and local landscapes.
Nationwide, there are about 500 renewable energy projects sited on brownfields and mine lands—a fraction of what’s possible.
Mining the Sun: The Benefits
5 Benefits of Solar Energy on Former Mines and Brownfields:
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Financial Incentives
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act has a tax credit up to 10% for projects built in energy communities, which includes communities with former coal mines and brownfields. Many states have incentives for reuse of brownfields and other contaminated sites in addition to the IRA tax incentives.
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Economic Revitalization
Mining communities have relied on mines as an economic driver. After mines close, it can be hard to find a productive use for that land. Developing clean energy on mines offers an opportunity to bring economic vitality back to mine sites through tax revenue and short-term jobs.
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Minimizing Environmental Impact
People value natural areas and local farms. Building on mines and brownfields can reduce how much these lands are developed for renewable energy. It can’t be completely avoided, but prioritizing industrialized areas can ease the pressure of converting natural and agricultural lands.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finds that mine lands and brownfields could supply up to 1.3 million MW of solar energy, enough to power most homes in the U.S. if all available lands are developed.
Explore the Map
TNC has created a navigable map that shows where mines and brownfields exist.
Learn MoreIdentifying Lands for Clean Energy Development
Worldwide there are an estimated 25 million acres of active and inactive mine lands, enough to accommodate a large amount of renewable energy development. The Mining the Sun national webmap shows where lands, including former mines and brownfields, in the U.S. already exist. This navigable map goes one step further outlining lands that are suitable to renewable energy development so energy developers, utilities and state and federal energy offices can easily identify lands that minimize impacts to nature.
TNC has catalyzed several Mining the Sun projects, showing that it’s possible to build financially viable new renewable energy projects on these sites. Click below to explore Mining the Sun projects in action.
Mining the Sun in Action
Explore Mining the Sun resources, projects and opportunities in key states.
Illinois
While Illinois has the second largest coal reserves in the country, mining has declined precipitously in the state. However, remnants of the state’s economic past are evident on the landscape. Coal mining peaked in 1935 with over 1,000 mines, leaving Illinois with more than 200,000 acres of former strip mines across the state, especially in Southern Illinois. In addition to abandoned mines, Illinois contains several thousand brownfield sites. Now, as Illinois seeks to meet ambitious clean energy goals, these sites can serve as locations for wind and solar.
Indiana
Indiana has seen rapid growth in solar development in the recent past. It was tied with Illinois as the most productive solar state in the Midwest. Most projects have been sited on croplands, which has given rise to controversies over the transformation of croplands into large scale solar projects. The state has significant opportunities, however, to focus future clean energy development on mine lands and brownfields.
Analysis by The Nature Conservancy indicates there are just over 150,000 acres of mine lands in southwestern Indiana within ten miles of transmission that could host solar and other clean energy technologies. Brownfields with an area greater than ten acres and within proximity of transmission are found across the state and offer a similar area (155,000 acres) for future clean energy development.
Kentucky
Kentucky’s legacy of mining and industrial development could be key to helping the state play a leading role in the energy transition while protecting its rich natural areas.
The Martin County Solar Project will develop a new solar energy facility on 1,200 acres. The project will supply Toyota Motor with renewable energy to reduce its carbon footprint.
The $1 billion project at the Starfire Mine developed by BrightNight will supply solar energy to Rivian Motors and other off takers; it will be built in several phases culminating in a 800-MW facility.
Nevada
In Nevada, TNC estimates 370,700 acres of brownfields and 3,808 acres in mines have technical potential for renewable energy. Many brownfield and mine sites are too small for utility scale projects, but they offer great possibilities for community scale projects. This could be especially valuable for the state’s widely scattered and remote rural communities.
As Nevada’s public utility prepares to expand transmission and renewable generation infrastructure, these land assets can be incorporated in the utility’s statewide energy plan. The state also has numerous brownfield sites, many associated with mineral processing and smelting. These sites represent the best opportunities for avoiding and minimizing impacts to Nevada’s diverse and sensitive ecosystems as renewable energy deployment accelerates.
North Dakota
North Dakota is home to over 280,000 acres of previously developed sites where new energy development would not convert native habitat. A TNC analysis suggests that across North Dakota, there are 589 brownfield sites larger than five acres—identified as EPA- and state-designated brownfields, solid waste sites and landfills, abandoned mines, former gas plants and abandoned oil/gas sites. Of this area, about 24,000 acres are low-impact brownfields—those that do not intersect with sensitive natural habitats and wildlife species. These low-impact land areas could provide nearly 3 GW of low-impact solar electricity generation capacity, assuming local nameplate capacity density of 30 MW/km2.
Ohio
Agriculture is a main industry in Ohio, and fortunately, there is a path to encourage renewable energy development in a way that does not harm agricultural operations. During the past two decades, many mines in the state have shuttered or downsized operations as the U.S. shifts to cleaner energy sources. TNC has identified roughly 567,600 acres of mine lands, mostly in eastern Ohio, with access to transmission lines that are potentially suitable for renewable energy development. In other parts of the state, nearly 300 brownfield sites totaling over 50,000 acres are located near transmission and potentially suitable for both community scale and utility scale solar projects.
Virginia
Virginia offers significant opportunities for solar development on previously mined lands and brownfields. TNC estimates roughly 170,000 acres of brownfields and 70,000 acres of mine land are potentially suitable for solar development in Virginia.
The Virginia Clean Economy Act passed in 2020 mandates that the two major utilities in the state, Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Electric Power, produce 100% renewable electricity by 2045 and 2050, and requires at least 200 MW of solar to be developed on brownfields and mined lands.
West Virginia
West Virginia has a timely opportunity to build on its legacy as a domestic energy provider for the 21st century by capitalizing on the vast land base of former surface coal mines as sites for new solar generation facilities. TNC’s preliminary analysis suggests that up to 508,300 acres of mine lands and over 134,000 acres of brownfields could meet minimum site suitability requirements for large-scale solar across West Virginia.
Wyoming
Wyoming’s economy has been deeply dependent on coal, oil and natural gas extraction, representing an opportunity and challenge for new wind and solar projects. TNC’s analysis shows there are approximately 118,000 acres of mine lands and 70,000 acres of brownfields that could be suitable for renewable energy development in Wyoming.
Vermont
Tucked away in the shadows of the Green Mountains, with its charming church, dirt roads and general store where people stop to greet their neighbors, Strafford, Vermont looks like the quintessential worry-free New England village.
But sitting at Strafford’s center was the Elizabeth Mine, an old copper mine that shuttered in the 1950s. While the mine was no longer workable, the leftover elements were still leaching acid into the Ompompanoosuc River, a local waterway that feeds the Connecticut River. Eventually, when the mine's dam was on the brink of failure, the Environmental Protection Agency swooped in to help.
When the mine clean up was coming to an end, the community voted to develop a solar project on the former mine site. 20,000 panels were put in place across the 45-acre mine site. The Elizabeth Mine Solar project came online in 2016, generating 5 megawatts—enough to power every home in Strafford. Today it stands as a testament to the power of what can be created when governments work together and to the importance of giving new ideas a chance.
Mining the Sun In Action
New England Town Embraces Solar on a Former Copper Mine
Strafford, Vermont looks like the quintessential worry-free New England village. But sitting at Strafford’s center was the Elizabeth Mine, an old copper mine that shuttered in the 1950s. The mine was still leaching acid into the Ompompanoosuc River, a local waterway that feeds the Connecticut River. Eventually, with the mine's dam was on the brink of failure, the Environmental Protection Agency swooped in to clean up the site.
Quote: Scott Alexander
For decades, our miners labored at Starfire to provide the energy that powered this country. To think that the site can be reimagined as a new energy producer, facilitating hundreds of millions in private capital investment, and the creation of a skilled workforce in green energy is truly exciting.
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More on Mines to Solar
Mining the Sun: How Nevada and West Virginia are Reclaiming Former Mine Lands with Solar Panels
Nevada and West Virginia, two states with very different identities, are finding themselves on the cutting edge of clean energy opportunity.
The Road to Renewables
Through its Solar on Mine Lands Initiative, The Nature Conservancy is working with stakeholders to facilitate siting solar farms on former mine lands and brownfields in West Virginia and beyond.
BrightNight, Rivian and The Nature Conservancy Unite to Transform Starfire Coal Mine into Kentucky’s Largest Renewable Power Project
CEOs announce innovative renewable energy project built on a coal mine that will honor Kentucky’s legacy as an energy producer while benefiting climate, conservation, and local communities.