Recently, on the outskirts of Bremond, Texas, a 10000 acre open-pit coal mine site, the roar of bulldozers replaced the sound of coal mining machines. Panamint Capital has officially launched the construction of the Great Rut Power Solar Farm, a project with an installed capacity of 1.2 gigawatts. This project is not only the largest photovoltaic power station in Texas, but also the largest solar cell array built on brownfield in North America. At the same time, the project forms a unique landscape of coexistence of new and old energy sources with the neighboring still operating Twin Oaks coal-fired power plant and Calvert open-pit coal mine, marking a crucial step forward in the coal to photovoltaic market segment in the United States.

Rise of clean energy in old coal mines

The Great Rutte Power Project is located in Bremond, Texas, between Dallas and Houston, utilizing some of the land and assets of the Twin Oaks coal-fired power plant and the Calvert open-pit coal mine. The total installed capacity of the project is 1.2 gigawatts, which will be constructed in two phases: the first phase of 491 megawatts has started construction and is expected to be connected to the grid in August 2028; The second phase of 658 MW will start in December 2026 and is scheduled to be put into operation in August 2029. The project is equipped with a 1.6 gigawatt hour battery energy storage system and a 20 mile new ultra-high voltage transmission line, while retaining the ability to construct an 800 megawatt gas-fired generator set.

Policy incentives promote coal to photovoltaic conversion

The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill and the 2022 inflation reduction bill provide policy incentives and financing convenience for clean energy projects in mining areas. The US Department of Energy has also established a $500 million special program to support the development of mining projects. The current coal to photovoltaic market in the United States, although limited in scale, continues to grow. The Tilden solar project in Illinois with an installed capacity of 186 megawatts and the Martin County project in Kentucky with an installed capacity of 111 megawatts have both been completed in abandoned coal mines. The Dulaite Mountain project in Louisiana with a capacity of 240 megawatts is accelerating construction, and the Spark project in Kentucky is adjusted to 410 megawatts and is expected to operate by 2030. Keywords: New energy news and information, photovoltaics, clean energy

Transformation is still advancing under new challenges

However, the Trump administration and Congress are gradually phasing out tax credits for solar and wind energy, setting more obstacles for brownfield development. The government has also abolished the reward for the mining basin solar power project led by the Ministry of Energy. Nevertheless, support remains at the state level, with Ohio and Colorado passing laws encouraging the development of renewable energy on abandoned industrial land. The Nature Conservancy plans to develop 25 solar and battery energy storage projects in the abandoned Cumberland Forest mining area. The first 10 MW Wildcat Solar project is expected to start construction in the fall of 2026 and be connected to the grid for power supply in 2027.Editor/Gao Xue