Ohio Approves Solar Farm on Former Coal Mine Land

A former coal mining site in Vinton County, Ohio, is getting a second life as a solar energy powerhouse, and this time, everyone's on board.

State regulators unanimously approved a permit last month for 149 megawatts of solar panels and 149 megawatts of battery storage at the Hamden Energy site. Unlike most solar projects in Ohio, which face fierce opposition, not a single party objected to this one.

The secret? Building on land that already served the energy industry.

"Developing a solar project on reclaimed land is an excellent opportunity to harvest another one of the area's abundant resources to power Ohio while providing supplemental tax revenue to support a legacy energy community," said Ali Trunzo, senior development manager for Recurrent Energy, the company behind the project.

Vinton County has watched coal, iron, and clay production disappear over the past century. Today, roughly 19% of its residents live in poverty. The county's commissioners could have blocked the solar farm under a 2021 Ohio law that makes renewables harder to build than fossil fuel projects, but they didn't.

Opponents of Ohio solar farms typically worry about losing farmland, even though solar panels occupy less space in the state than golf courses. Projects on former mining sites dodge that criticism entirely, though they can cost more to develop because of challenging soil conditions and terrain.

Recurrent Energy agreed to wait until ongoing land reclamation finishes before breaking ground. About 25 people who commented on the project shared mixed views, with most asking whether the cleanup would be complete before construction starts.

The Ripple Effect

Ohio has more than 70,000 acres of former mine lands and industrial sites that could host similar projects. A new 2025 law makes these locations priority investment areas for development, and the state has already begun designating the first sites.

This matters because Ohio's electricity demand is growing, and solar typically comes online faster and cheaper than natural gas. Yet clean energy developers still face bans and project vetoes across the state, with regulators often blocking proposals based on local opposition rather than facts.

The Nature Conservancy sees the new law as a pathway around some of these barriers. "The reuse of former mining land for new energy production is a win-win for Ohio consumers and the environment," said Rebecca Mellino, the organization's associate director of climate and energy policy.

Other coal-to-solar projects are already underway in Ohio and across Appalachia. The Vinton Solar Energy Center, approved in 2018, remains under construction nearby.

Chris Tavenor, general counsel for the Ohio Environmental Council, celebrated the Hamden project while noting the bigger picture: "Projects like Hamden Energy are vital to bringing sustainable, affordable, and dependable energy online."

The path forward for clean energy in Ohio remains uncertain, with legislation pending that could make future projects even harder to approve. But for one coal mining county, the future just got a whole lot brighter.