Energy News Network has an article about a plan to turn reclaimed land from coal mines into solar farms, to help preserve the surrounding forest and help boost the local economy.
The Nature Conservancy owns 253,000 acres of forest and old mines in Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and the Conservancy’s Clinch Valley Program manages the forests. About 13,000 acres of the land is old, cleared land around former coal mines, in sites that are 100-300 acres.
The Clinch Valley Program is partnering with the Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia to explore ways to incorporate solar into plans for reclaiming the mines. They want to preserve the forested areas, which are headwaters for streams and rivers, and help renew and diversify the economy in southwest Virginia and the Appalachian area.
Putting solar on reclaimed land from mines would help in 3 areas: It would help fight climate change, which could drastically affect the forests and wildlife. It will have a financial return to help the Conservancy show that solar projects, sustainable forestry, and using the forests to sequester carbon is a good business decision. It will also help the local economy, bringing training and good jobs, and promoting tourism and outdoor recreation.
This is such a brilliant idea, and it’s good to see a joint effort between the Nature Conservancy that owns land, and local solar workgroups that are looking to solar to boost the local economy.
Coal is such a dirty fuel – mining it creates air and water pollution and deforests land, burning it creates air pollution and polluted waste. Bringing in solar to reclaim old coal mine land will boost the economy, improve health, and help the forests, all at the same time.
