Sun Tribe & ENGIE to build PV & storage projects in Appalachia,US

The Nature Conservancy and Cumberland Forest Limited Partnership announced agreements with Sun Tribe Development and ENGIE to develop 14 solar and three battery storage projects on 360 acres of former coal mines in Appalachia. This was the second clean energy initiative under TNC’s Cumberland Forest Project in Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The projects aimed to produce 49 MW of solar power and store 320 MW of energy, enough for 6,638 homes each year. Sun Tribe planned one small 5 MW solar farm and three large battery storage systems between 80 MW and 150 MW to help stabilize the power grid. ENGIE planned 13 community-scale solar projects, leveraging Inflation Reduction Act incentives. These agreements expanded on existing efforts, including Sun Tribe and Dominion Energy’s pre-development work since 2021 to generate 140 MW. The first project, Wildcats Solar, a 10 MW array in Wise County, VA, was expected to begin construction by 2026, contributing $800,000 in tax revenue.