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$475 million award for energy on mine lands includes Lewis Ridge coal-to-pumped storage

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$475 million award for energy on mine lands includes Lewis Ridge coal-to-pumped storage
(photo courtesy Rye Development)

As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $475 million in funding for five projects in Arizona, Kentucky, Nevada, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to accelerate clean energy deployment on current and former mine land.

Developing clean energy projects on mine land provides an attractive economic alternative to using undisturbed natural and agricultural land. Mine land is often located near critical infrastructure that makes it suitable for clean energy development, including electric substations, transmission lines and access to roads or railroad lines.

Included in this award was the Lewis Ridge Project, a coal-to-pumped storage hydropower project in Bell County, Ky.

This funding — made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — will support diverse, locally-driven clean energy projects that can be replicated in current and former mining communities. The projects are expected to expand local and regional workforce partnerships and generate local tax revenues, supporting essential public services and spurring new economic opportunities.

“President Biden believes that the communities that have powered our nation for the past 100 years should power our nation for the next 100 years,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to the President’s Investing in America agenda, DOE is helping deploy clean energy solutions on current and former mine land across the country — supporting jobs and economic development in the areas hit hardest by our evolving energy landscape.”

In line with the president’s Justice40 Initiative, these projects will advance energy and environmental justice and help ensure the benefits of the clean energy transition flow directly to impacted communities. The projects announced will accelerate clean energy solutions that are critical to reducing pollution, creating healthier communities, and meeting the Biden-Harris Administration’s clean energy and climate goals, according to a release.

The selected projects cover a range of clean energy technologies: solar, microgrids, pumped storage hydropower, geothermal and battery energy storage systems. Three projects are on former Appalachian coal mines, which supports economic revitalization and workforce development on land that is no longer viable for industrial purposes. In the western U.S., two projects seek to displace fossil fuel use by ramping up net-zero mining operations and providing the critical materials needed for a robust, domestic, clean energy supply chain. These projects are expected to create more than 3,000 good-paying construction and operations jobs.  

The Lewis Ridge Project proposes converting former coal mine land to a closed-loop, pumped storage hydroelectric facility with the potential to dispatch up to eight hours of power when needed, such as during times of peak demand or extreme weather events. This project will support the increase of local tax revenues that have decreased steadily since the 1970s and create about 1,500 construction and 30 operations jobs. Rye Development serves as the selectee and plans to prioritize local hiring through partnerships with several unions and the Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College.

“This project is not only a significant investment in Kentucky; it’s an investment in strengthening our national electricity grid, helping to secure our energy future,” said Paul Jacob, chief executive officer of Rye Development. “The Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project will protect against blackouts and brownouts, while transforming a former mining site into a long-term economic engine for the region.”

In October 2022, Hydro Review reported that Rye Development filed its pre-application document and notice of intent to file a license application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the Lewis Ridge Closed Loop Pumped Hydropower Storage project, with the capacity to generate more than 200 MW fir eight hours.

The other four projects selected for award negotiation are:

Copper Recovery to Support America’s Domestic Energy Supply Chain (Graham and Greenlee Counties, Ariz.) – This project seeks to deploy direct-use, geothermal, clean heat combined with a battery energy storage system at two active copper mines in southeast Arizona. The selectee is Freeport Minerals Corporation.

Decarbonizing Gold Mines (Elko, Humboldt and Eureka Counties, Nev.) – This project aims to develop a solar photovoltaic facility and accompanying battery energy storage system across three active gold mines in Nevada. The selectee is Nevada Gold Mines LLC.

Mineral Basin: Coal-to-Solar (Clearfield County, Pa.) – This project plans to repurpose nearly 2,700 acres of former coal mining land to support the largest solar project in Pennsylvania, at 402 MW. The selectee is Mineral Basin Solar Power, LLC, a subsidiary of Swift Current Energy.

A Model for Transition: Coal-to-Solar (Nicholas County, W.Va.) – This project plans to repurpose two former coal mines with a utility-scale, 250 MW solar PV system that would power about 39,000 West Virginia homes. The selectee is the New River Community and Technical College, Mana Group, and National Association of Counties Research Foundation.

Managed by DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land (CEML) will help provide the mining industry with a range of ways to decarbonize operations and minimize environmental impacts and air pollutants, abating greenhouse gas emissions and disturbances to fragile, surrounding ecosystems. Replicating clean energy technologies like these on other current and former mines will help maximize local workforce development and community opportunities for generations, DOE said.