RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A global conservation nonprofit and Virginia’s largest electricity utility are announcing plans to develop what they say will be a large-scale solar project on former surface mines in the southwest Virginia coalfields.
Dominion Energy Virginia plans to repurpose about 1,200 acres of the former Red Onion surface mine and surrounding properties for the 50-megawatt Highlands Solar project in Wise and Dickenson County, the company said in a news release with its project partner, The Nature Conservancy.
The companies hope the project will develop a model that can be replicated in other coal mining regions across the U.S. and give southwest Virginia’s struggling economy a boost.