POWER November 2015 - 56

PROJECT SITING
Huge Potential for RE-Powering
America
Throughout the U.S., according to the Government
Accountability Office, there are between
80,000 and 250,000 similar abandoned
mine lands (AMLs) pock-marking the landscape.
AMLs include abandoned mines and
the areas adjacent to or affected by the mines.
Because of safety or environmental concerns,
the majority of these sites have never been
considered for any type of reuse and have remained
idle.
AML sites are often in rural or remote
areas that may not be well-suited for more
traditional commercial or industrial reuse opportunities.
Quite a few are " pre-law " sites
not subject to the Surface Mining Control
and Reclamation Act of 1977 and/or are not
former coal mines. Because of this, the land
often sits fallow or has become de facto nature
or hunting preserves. And few companies
or entities would ever seriously consider taking
on the remediation costs associated with
redevelopment. Indeed, the land essentially
becomes a ward of the state, often leaching
toxins into the environment with little oversight.
Struggling agencies barely have the
resources to adequately clean up these areas.
And now, following the disaster at the Gold
King Mine in southwestern Colorado earlier
this year, you can bet any group currently involved
in remediation work is reevaluating
its plans.
But if stakeholders are able to think outside
the box and look forward, there are
some real benefits inherent in transforming
these blighted areas. Many of these
sites can take advantage of local renewable
resource attributes to produce power while
returning the land to productive use. As
part of its RE-Powering America initiative,
the EPA has identified renewable energy
development at mining sites as a priority
for the agency's reuse-related activities at
contaminated sites. The initiative identifies
brownfields, Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act, Superfund, and mining sites
for their wind, solar, and biomass development
potential and provides other useful
resources for communities, developers,
industry, state and local governments, or
anyone interested in reusing these sites for
renewable energy development. The EPA
supports the reuse of former mine lands
through the Superfund Redevelopment
Initiative (SRI).
Working in collaboration with the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory, the
RE-Powering Initiative has propelled renewable
energy development on contaminated
lands from merely an intriguing notion to an
ever-increasing portfolio of viable projects.
According to the EPA, since the initiative's
56
2. Where the wind blows and the antelope roam. A 66-turbine wind farm rated
at 99 MW near Glenrock, Wyo., now generates renewable energy where the Dave Johnston
Coal Mine once sat (see next figure). Courtesy: PacifiCorp
inception in 2008, more than 150 renewable
energy installations on 144 contaminated
lands, landfills, and mine sites have been
established throughout 35 states and territories,
representing a combined 1,046 MW
of capacity-not a huge amount of power,
but not bad for a relatively obscure project
within a very thinly stretched agency.
Of course, the EPA doesn't site renewable
energy projects but directly and indirectly
supports cleanup of contaminated properties
where such sites could be developed. Remediating
contaminated sites and determining
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their eventual reuses results from the efforts
of a diverse set of stakeholders including
communities, developers, states, tribes, local
government, and the financial community.
Siting Advantages
As noted above, AMLs often are excellent
locations for solar energy and wind production
facilities. Many abandoned mining sites
are located in the western and southwestern
U.S., in areas that have abundant available
sunlight (300+ days a year). However, states
like Pennsylvania are also demonstrating
POWER | November 2015
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POWER November 2015

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