Repurposing Mined Lands into Long-term Energy Assets

Clean energy projects need space, but finding land that’s both viable and permittable is getting harder. At the same time, thousands of acres of mined lands sit underused, shaped by years of surface and underground extraction. These sites often come with permitting obligations, reclamation schedules, and layered histories that make them easy to overlook, but also hard to ignore.

In Kentucky, two energy projects are taking different approaches to the same idea: reimagining mined lands for what comes next.

At the Starfire Complex, BrightNight is developing a large-scale solar farm on a reclaimed surface mine. The site sits just behind an active coal operation, so timing and coordination matter. Construction has to move in step with reclamation work, and every decision has to fit within an existing regulatory structure. Still, the basics are already in place—graded land, road access, and transmission nearby—making it a smart, repeatable model for reuse.

Sixty miles away, the Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project is pushing the idea further. It’s a $1.3 billion effort to turn a former mine into a closed-loop hydropower system, using two reservoirs to store renewable energy. Unlike solar, this kind of storage comes with more complexity: old underground mine workings, overlapping land use, and layers of permitting that require careful navigation. It’s not a project that scales easily, but it shows what’s possible when teams are willing to work with a site’s full history.

Together, Lewis Ridge and BrightNight reflect two ends of the reuse spectrum: long-duration storage with deep geotechnical needs, and solar development that moves in step with reclamation. Both show that reuse isn’t one-size-fits-all, but it is possible.

Know What's Beneath You

Legacy sites don’t come with clean slates. At Lewis Ridge, underground mining left voids that could affect stability. Detailed mapping of historical operations helped the team understand what they were building on and what to avoid. BrightNight’s team similarly reviewed past fill placements to inform grading and drainage plans.

Reclamation and Reuse Can Coexist

Active reclamation doesn’t rule out new development. In both projects, developers engaged early with regulators and local operators to ensure their work respected existing bonds and obligations, avoiding delays and building trust.

Use What's Already There

Mined lands often come with road access, cleared space, and proximity to transmission. Reuse can reduce permitting time, limit disturbance, and stretch budgets further by building on existing assets.