From pv magazine USA
US coal producer Peabody and renewable energy developer RWE have announced a new partnership to repurpose reclaimed land previously used for coal mines into solar facilities.
Peabody will supply its significant land resources and land reclamation services, while RWE will develop up to 5.5 GW of solar assets, or roughly the equivalent power demand of 850,000 homes. The plan calls for 10 potential projects across Illinois and Indiana.
The two are forming a joint venture called R3. Peabody will retain 25% stake in the company. RWE is purchasing the remaining stake from the founding groups Summit Partners Credit Advisors and Riverstone Credit Partners.
“Our new partnership with a globally recognized renewable energy leader represents significant added momentum in our initiatives to develop renewable projects on Peabody’s formerly mined lands,” said Jim Grech, president and chief executive officer of Peabody. “Peabody is committed to advancing environmental sustainability, creating additional value from our assets, and providing added economic benefits for the communities in which we work and live.”
RWE said the projects will advance development of renewables in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region, while promoting jobs and producing tax revenues for local communities. The company said that the projects maintain existing agricultural lands, avoiding development in these areas.
“Solar and storage facilities are a great way to bring economic development via construction jobs, local and domestic investment, and direct community benefits and taxes as well as a contribution to energy security,” said Andrew Flanagan, chief executive officer of RWE Clean Energy.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.