This is an extract from a recent report “Mining the Sun” prepared by The Nature Conservancy. It includes overviews of relevant state and federal policies, programs and incentives; economic analyses; community engagement best practices; and maps showing viable brownfield and mine sites. 

Federal Policy Landscape 

Two new federal laws provide incentives to support renewable energy production on mine lands and brownfields. Specifically, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, 2021) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA, 2022) include significant tax credit and financing programs to offset the additional costs of developing on brownfields and other degraded lands:

• IIJA’s Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land includes $500 million to be administered by the U.S. Department of Energy for five large scale clean energy demonstration projects on mine lands. DOE received 98 project proposals requesting $9.4 billion for proposed projects in 29 states. Grant awards will be announced in early 2024.

• IRA includes expanded production and investment tax credits for wind, solar and other clean energy technologies, with bonus credits for electricity produced in areas that meet any of the following criteria:

> Brownfield sites 

> High rates of unemployment 

> High tax revenue from fossil energy production 

> Recently closed coal mines or coal-fired power plants

• IRA establishes a $250 billion loan program to finance projects that repurpose former fossil energy infrastructure to support clean power generation. Funds can be used to retool, repower, repurpose or replace energy infrastructure that has ceased operations, or enable operating energy infrastructure to avoid, reduce, utilise or sequester air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to the new tax incentives, loans and grants, there are several existing federal grant programs for reclaiming mine lands and brownfields:

• The Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program assesses fees on each ton or mined coal and the Department of Interior distributes those funds based on a preset formula to states and tribes for mine reclamation. Priority grant uses include eliminating public safety hazards, remediating soil and water contamination, and restoring land and water resources.

• The AML Economic Revitalization Program (AMLER) provides funds for productive economic and community uses in six Appalachian states and the Navajo, Hopi, and Crow Nations.

• The EPA Brownfield Program has a half dozen programs to fund assessments, provide low interest remediation loans, clean up grants, job training, and state and tribal brownfield response programs. Additional federal funding opportunities can be found at the Economic Development Administration and the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Federal Regulatory Landscape

A range of federal policies come into play when it comes to new energy projects on brownfields and mine lands. Laws that govern hardrock mining, surface mining and reclamation and hazardous waste sites can determine everything from required remediation before a new project can move forward, to responsible parties for liabilities associated with hazardous waste located on a potential site. Other laws pertaining to environmental and clean water protection determine required permitting and processes to protect wildlife, clean water and other natural resources.

State Policy Framework

State programs must meet minimum requirements set by federal statutes but can be more stringent than the federal programs. This is true for the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). With respect to hazardous waste administration, states generally have solid and hazardous waste statutes and regulations that affect the economic feasibility of repurposing brownfields and other abandoned and degraded lands— both active sites and former sites—for renewable energy generation and storage. States may also have policies related to planning, defining eligible uses and setting bonding requirements for site cleanup and reclamation.

When considering a state for a potential project, the following questions can help assess opportunities and challenges related to hazardous waste regulation:

Planning 

• Do state planning policies require consideration of renewable energy and transmission opportunities? 

• Do state planning policies require identification of goals? If so, are they required to consider goals related to renewable energy and transmission? 

• Do state policies allow for revision of closure and cleanup plans and, if so, for revisiting renewable energy development and associated transmission?

Eligible uses 

• Do the state solid and hazardous waste policies outline the eligible uses of former landfills and other brownfields? 

• If so, is renewable energy development identified as an eligible use?

Bonding 

• Strict rules about conditions for reducing or removing bonds on mining sites can be a major impediment. Are bonding requirements maximising opportunities for renewable energy development and associated transmission? For example, are there opportunities for financial assurances and monitoring timelines to decrease if renewable energy is being developed and planned for future interconnection?

State Roadmaps

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 1000 mines, leaving Illinois with over 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. Reusing degraded lands for renewable energy development is a win-win solution for people and nature, providing the land for new energy development in lieu of prime farmland and open space. Illinois has outstanding opportunities for clean energy deployment on mine lands and brownfields. Nearly 200 brownfield sites totaling 40,030 acres are sufficiently large to accommodate either community or utility-scale solar projects and are close to transmission lines and substations. Recently enacted policies are also driving a clean energy boom in the state. The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) is forecast to drive a major expansion of wind and solar capacity by 2050, nearly five times the current capacity. CEJA includes a mandate to procure a portion of the state’s renewable energy from utility-scale solar on brownfields, as well as a Coal to Solar Program to incentivize solar projects on or adjacent to coal generation facilities that were in operation as of January 2016. 

Indiana: Indiana has a rich history as an industrial and coal mining state. The Illinois Coal Basin, of which Indiana is a part, is one of the largest coal fields in the United States. Indiana’s bituminous coal mines are concentrated in the southwestern part of the state. Indiana’s coal region has the state’s best solar resource values and its lowest wind resource values. Brownfields are found throughout the state, with most concentrated in urban areas. They range from small sites associated with leaking tanks and localised contamination to very large former industrial sites. Brownfield sites provide opportunities for both wind and solar development as well as storage and other clean energy technologies. 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. 

Kentucky: Kentucky has a long and proud history as a leading energy state. Already fragmented by mining, agriculture and other land uses, expansion of renewable energy poses a new challenge to the state’s natural areas. Kentucky’s legacy of mining and industrial development, however, could be key to helping the state play a leading role in the energy transition while protecting its rich natural areas. Siting solar, wind and other clean energy projects on mine lands and brownfields can also reduce the conversion of Kentucky’s prime agricultural lands. The EPA RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative inventory of technically feasible brownfield locations for solar projects in Kentucky includes 81 sites (>50 acres) encompassing 52,420 acres. TNC estimates approximately 123,000 acres of Kentucky brownfields are suitable for solar development and that up to 180,000 acres of mine lands are potentially suitable for clean energy development in Kentucky. Kentucky currently ranks near the bottom in installed wind and solar capacity, but several major solar projects are moving forward on mine lands. 

Nevada: Nevada has a rich history of mining precious minerals like copper, gold and silver and has thousands of active and inactive hardrock mines. Nevada’s hardrock mines—both closed and open—present important opportunities for renewable energy development. Closed heap leach piles and waste rock dump sites can be ideal places to install clean energy. For closed mines, tailings storage facilities and pit lakes can also be good sites for larger renewable energy projects. Closed and abandoned mine sites frequently have electricity infrastructure still in place, and many sites have large, flat areas suitable for clean energy infrastructure. Nevada’s energy and mining industries are governed by several state and federal agencies and many of Nevada’s mine sites are located on federal land. Many existing and proposed industrial renewable energy projects are also on federal land. In 2022, there were approximately 9 GW of permitted renewable energy projects on BLMadministered lands in Nevada. The agency is on track to have as much as 13 GW permitted in the state by 2025, with much more anticipated in following years. In Nevada, TNC estimates 370,700 acres of brownfields and 3,808 acres in mines have technical potential for renewable energy. 

North Dakota: Fossil fuel energy is still an important part of the state’s economy, representing nearly 13% of state employment. The state’s wind and solar resources, however, are likely to become increasingly important in the next several decades as the national energy transition accelerates. 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 5 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: Renewable energy development has been focused on highly productive croplands, which feeds the state’s largest industry and employs one in seven workers. Growing concern that wind and solar projects might displace agriculture has spawned state and local policies that restrict where utility scale renewable energy projects can be sited. These policies have had a dampening effect on renewable energy development, and Ohio now significantly trails most of its neighbours in wind and solar capacity. Meanwhile, over half of Ohio’s largest employers have made public commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and buy renewable energy. Increasingly, this means that Ohio’s largest companies will need to source their renewable energy from out-of-state projects. The Nature Conservancy 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. The VA Department of Environmental Quality tracks over 1,700 former industrial sites scattered across the state. While some lower priority greenfields will still be converted to support Virginia’s clean energy transition, a 2020 analysis by The Nature Conservancy found it is possible for Virginia build the solar and onshore wind it needs to meet the Virginia Clean Economy Act goal of 16,100 MW of new renewable energy generation without converting its most important natural or prime agricultural lands. The Nature Conservancy estimates roughly 170,000 acres of brownfields and 70,000 acres of mine land are potentially suitable for solar development in Virginia. Demand for solar development in Virginia is strong. As of 2023, Virginia had 4,393 MW of installed solar generation. 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 percent renewable electricity by 2045 and 2050. The proliferation of large data centers in northern Virginia constructed by companies with 100% clean energy commitments has also increased demand for solar energy. Virginia has a very conducive social and improving policy environment for facilitating clean energy development on mined lands and brownfields. 

West Virginia: Much of West Virginia’s land, minerals and other natural resources are owned by large out-of-state land holding companies, which collect lease and royalty payments from coal mining companies and other enterprises sited on their land, such as timber operations and natural gas wells. Some holdings are completely mined out or otherwise uneconomic, and with a downturn in coal mining, landholding companies are looking for replacement revenue streams. West Virginia has a timely opportunity to build on its legacy as a domestic energy provider for the 21st century by capitalising 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. Recent investments for a renewable energy powered titanium smelter and a large battery storage manufacturing plant are another signal the renewable energy industry is starting to expand.

Wyoming: Wyoming has vast energy resources, huge areas of intact habitat and abundant wildlife populations. 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. While the state has some of the best onshore wind resources in North America and better than expected solar, they are some of the country’s most distant renewable resources from energy markets. 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. The I-80 corridor has access to transmission capacity and high-quality wind and solar resources and has historically been an area of focus for renewable energy developers. 

Access the complete report here