Adaptive reuse of mined lands

SynTerra authors shed light on use of mined mountaintops to farm solar energy.

The roadmap to solar energy in Central Appalachia presents several obstacles, including a lack of economic incentive for utilities and other land owners. The terrain — filled with steep slopes and narrow valleys — is another obstacle, but there are mined mountaintop locations where the sun could do its thing.

Posted July 18, 2019:

Solar energy and Central Appalachia are not usually mentioned in the same conversation. There are myriad reasons, including: incompatible terrain; absence of federal and state policies/incentives that promote solar energy; and lack of incentive for utility companies, land owners, and mining companies. SynTerra research and analysis, however, indicate that the solar energy situation could change in Central Appalachia — if attitudes change and minds are open to a novel approach: using the locations of previous mountaintop mine sites for solar energy projects.

Five SynTerra professionals — Al Campoli, Steve Gardner, Doug Mynear, Andy Willis, and Seth Mittle — took a months-long deep dive into Central Appalachia’s solar energy landscape (pun intended). They presented their observations and recommendations in “Adaptive reuse of mined lands for solar energy,” published in the June 2019 edition of Mining Engineering Magazine, the technical journal of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration. The authors, each with decades of experience in the mining industry, began their project as leaders and employees of ECSI. (Lexington, KY-based ECSI became part of SynTerra in January 2019.)

The project was launched when a nonprofit organization asked ECSI to produce a roadmap to solar energy in Central Appalachia. The ECSI/SynTerra team accepted the challenge knowing that any such roadmap wouldn’t be smoothly paved. An analysis of inconsistent federal solar policies strengthened that realization, and an analysis of state solar policies drove it home poignantly. In addition to a lack of support for getting projects started, there is not always a clear pathway to selling electricity from solar projects.

The authors contend that pressure to enact any legislative changes will have to come from outside of the state government. Outside pressure could come from a combination of entities, including utility companies, large corporations, large landholding companies, and the public. Those same entities could also provide the impetus and framework for facilitating the actual sale of electricity generated by solar energy projects.

The SynTerra project addresses the challenge of available land. Central Appalachia is full of steep slopes and narrow valleys, neither of which allows the sunlight necessary for solar energy project success. This is where the novel approach — and unlikely teaming of mining and solar energy industries — comes into play. The viable solution is the use of mined mountaintops for solar panels. There are plenty of the mountaintop locations, and there are no slopes or valleys in play; the sun can do its thing.

Yes, there are accessibility issues, and there are the legislative/policy hurdles, but if attitudes change and sensibility prevails, it will be more than doable to place solar panels on mined mountaintops. Potential rewards include:

Continued (and profitable) use of land for mine companies and other property owners
Economic incentives in the forms of new revenue streams and rapid bond releases for reclamation
Job creation in areas of comparatively high unemployment and lack of employment
A reduced carbon footprint as the solar alternative replaces other energy-producing methods

Read the full article: “Adaptive reuse of mined lands for solar energy”

Kathy Webb, P.G.

Senior Market Leader | Principal

Kathy Webb, who co-founded SynTerra (then known as The Fletcher Group) in 1992, has completed remedial investigations and regulatory compliance projects associated with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities, state and federal Superfund sites, solid waste landfills, brownfield redevelopment, utility coal combustion residual (CCR) management units, and regulated industrial facilities. She has supported litigation as an expert witness related to chlorinated solvents, metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Kathy is known for her practical assessment strategy with the perspective of the client’s business objectives. She routinely evaluates groundwater corrective action systems for effectiveness and progress toward achieving compliance objectives. She has co-authored a trade journal paper with case studies of low-impact remedial strategies. Kathy is a licensed Professional Geologist in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Mark Taylor, P.G.

Principal

Mark has worked more than 40 years in natural-resource based industries. His expertise includes mine geology and mine engineering, hydrogeologic and geotechnical investigations, solid and hazardous waste management, and regulatory negotiations. He has published peer-reviewed papers about coal geology, ore geochemistry, mineralogy, and solid waste management. He is a leading expert in mining and environmental permitting for litigation support.

Mark is licensed as a Professional Geologist in South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Washington. He serves on the boards of the Upstate Red Cross and Upstate Forever. He served on the South Carolina Board of Registration for Geologists for six years. Mark holds a Master’s degree in Geological Sciences from The University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Science from Harvard University.

Andrea Kehn, P.E.

Vice President of Engineering | Principal

Andrea Kehn, leader of our Civil & Environmental Engineering Business Unit, has 28 years of experience in chemical manufacturing and environmental consulting. She leads and supervises staff professionals on multidisciplinary projects for a variety of industrial clients. Andrea’s vast experience and expertise includes: air quality construction and operating permitting; air quality modeling; air permit record-keeping and reporting; Oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP); NPDES permitting; water quality modeling; process safety management; risk management compliance and auditing; and RCRA compliance.

Andrea is registered as a Professional Engineer in South Carolina. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Ruth Albright, P.E.

Vice President | Principal

Ruth has led projects for major industrial facilities throughout the Southeast and beyond. She built her knowledge of environmental regulations and their application to manufacturing operations while working for the second largest chemical manufacturing company in the United States. At SynTerra, she has expanded both her knowledge and reputation working for chemical manufacturing operations of all sizes. She has also worked extensively with other manufacturing operations, including pulp and paper, industrial equipment, pharmaceuticals, food, and automotive parts and assembly. Her experience includes air and wastewater permit compliance, solid and hazardous waste management, solid waste construction permitting, hazardous materials transportation, wastewater treatment systems, air pollution control equipment operations and maintenance, and ambient air monitoring systems.

Ruth is a professional engineer registered in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Michigan, Arkansas, and Kentucky. She is an active member of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Environmental Technical Committee and serves as the chair of the water subcommittee. She has previously served as the program and committee chair for the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce Environmental Affairs committee. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University.