Electricity-generating plant begins operations on former coal mine site

BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

PILGRIM — On a plot of land once home to Kentucky coal’s gritty past in Pilgrim, Martin County Solar Project (MCSP) has officially flipped the switch on a 111-megawatt electricity-generating plant.

Owner Savion LLC announced Tuesday that the solar plant on the former Martiki coal mine site will generate enough electricity over the next 40 years to power roughly 18,500 homes annually.

“Years ago, Savion saw the exceptional opportunity to develop a solar project on a former coal mine in the great state of Kentucky, which has a rich history of energy generation in this country and continues to demonstrate its commitment to powering our nation through creative solutions such as this one,” Savion president Nick Lincon said in a press release.

“We’re proud to be able to bring this project into operation and grateful to everyone who made this project a reality,” said Lincon, crediting local leaders, advocates and partners.

“The critical partnerships among the Martin County Judge Executive and Fiscal Court, local community members, educational advocates, economic and workforce development leaders, as well as the teams working on the ground were essential to helping bring this unique solar facility online,” he said.

MCSP sits on 850 acres of the estimated 1,200-acre site. It includes more than 214,000 bifacial solar panels and interconnects to Kentucky Power’s Inez Substation – already located on-site.

This reinvention of reclaimed mine lands did not happen overnight. The project began in 2020.

In November 2021, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved a $600,000 sales tax incentive via the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA).

Discussions with county officials also began in 2020 with Savion bargaining on a 200-megawatt plant. The Martin County Fiscal Court agreed to issue a $231-million industrial revenue bond and to accept a payment in lieu of tangible property tax (PILOT). The terms of the PILOT call for Savion to pay the county $1,500 per megawatt produced, with the revenue to be shared by the county and the school district. At 200 megawatts, the payment would bring $300,000 per year.

Savion later received approval from the Kentucky State Board on Electric Generation and Transmission Siting to split the project into two phases. The now operational 111-megawatt array is phase I and will bring the county and school district $166,500 per year in shared revenue.

In September 2023, Three Forks Land Holdings LLC, located in Savion’s Kansas City, Missouri, headquarters, acquired the land.

Construction of phase I kicked off in October 2023 and concluded in December 2024.

Big-name backers

MCSP’s energy output has already been spoken for as Toyota Motor North America inked a deal in May 2023 to purchase 100 MW through a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA). Shell Energy North America secured the remaining 11 MW, rounding out the buyers for the phase I project.

“Respect for the Planet is one of our company’s core values,” said Willie Overmann, carbon neutrality business manager for Toyota Motor North America. “We demonstrate this value by striving to go beyond carbon neutrality with our products, services, and operations and find new ways to make a positive impact on our planet and society. This virtual power purchase agreement with Savion embodies the transparent, science-based approach we take when addressing one of the most complex challenges of our time.”

In the works

For Savion, a portfolio company of the Shell Group, MCSP is one of the largest operating utility-scale energy facilities in Kentucky. It is but one of three other Savion projects in the area.

In December, the state gave Savion the green light on another solar facility in Martin County. The Lynn Bark Energy Center, near Inez, will be capable of generating up to 200 megawatts of power.

Savion is also developing a 100-megawatt solar plant just across the county line, the Pike County Solar Project LLC.

The status of phase II of the MCSP was unknown at press time.

All of these facilities will utilize Kentucky Power’s Inez Substation.