History of this Kentucky city tied to coal, but solar project is a nod to the future

The history of Middlesboro is tied up with coal, but a new installation in the city is a step toward the growth of renewable energy in Kentucky.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Mountain Association and the city took part in a project to install 162 solar panels on the roof of the Middlesboro Community Center, which has a pool and event space.

Workers from HOMES Inc., in Whitesburg, which received the contract for the job, finished installing the panels Dec. 14. Work to complete wiring on the project will be done soon, said Seth Long, executive director of HOMES.

The solar array will produce 80% of the electricity the center needs, shaving about $8,500 a year off the energy bill, according to The Nature Conservancy.

That will free up money for other uses, said Middlesboro Mayor Boone Bowling.

“Every dollar you save counts and helps,” Bowling said.

Bowling said he was not aware of any other solar installations in the city of about 9,100, but that the community-center project could show the way for more.

Middlesboro was founded in the 1880s with backing from English investors eager to tap into rich coal and iron ore deposits, with the idea of developing a steel-making center.

That didn’t work out, but coal jobs remained an important piece of the economy for well over a century. Direct employment in coal mining accounted for 13% of all employment in the county in 2009, though that dropped to 8.4% in 2011 as the industry slumped, according to the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet.

The Bell County Chamber of Commerce occupies a building constructed in 1926 from 42 tons of coal, a continuing nod to the city’s history.

The cost of the solar project at the community center is $140,000, with The Nature Conservancy providing $77,990 of that.

The other funding is made up of $20,000 through a grant from General Motors to the Mountain Association; $22,000 from the Appalachian Solar Finance Fund, which Appalachian Voices administers; and $20,000 from the city.

The city can apply for money to recoup its contribution through the federal Inflation Reduction Act, said Carrie Ray, director of energy programs for Mountain Association.

One key piece of the law, approved by Congress in 2022 at the urging of the administration of President Joe Biden, is billions in incentives for measures aimed at curbing climate change by reducing carbon emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere.

Money for the project became available after The Nature Conservancy facilitated the purchase of a total of 253,000 acres in southeast Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.

An investment fund called Cumberland Forest LP bought the surface rights. The Nature Conservancy manages the properties and has done significant reforestation, but the mineral rights underground stayed with other owners.

That meant continued extraction of coal, oil and natural gas would be allowed, with royalty payments to The Nature Conservancy.

The organization decided to use all the royalty money it receives in Kentucky for solar installations.

“We want conservation to have tangible benefits for the community,” said David Phemister, state director of The Nature Conservancy in Kentucky. “Solar is a smart investment in the future that also yields immediate benefits.”

Ray said there are several more solar projects in the works in southeastern Kentucky. Those include installing additional solar panels at the Red Bird Mission school and placing panels at the Leslie County Animal Shelter.

The Mountain Association also is involved in a project to install solar panels at Martin County High School.

The project, underwritten with a $100,000 donation from renewable energy company Savion, is projected to save the school system $12,500 a year, according to the association, a non-profit community economic development organization.

“It’s a pragmatic decision about saving money on their bills,” Ray said of the interest in solar development.

The projects also create jobs.

“Projects like these help us to put local folks to work, providing our employees with excellent hands-on training opportunities in renewable energy,” said Long. “We see solar as a proven solution to help small businesses, homeowners and local governments survive in economically difficult times.”

There was a time when some supporters of coal in Kentucky saw the push for renewable energy as an effort to undermine coal, but people involved with the Middlesboro project said they see growing acceptance of renewable energy in the state’s eastern coalfield.

“I think people see the promise of it,” Phemister said.

In Martin County, the contractor for a large solar project is currently hiring workers, said Adam Edelen, head of Edelen Renewables, which is helping develop the project.

Development also continues on another large solar project on a former surface mine that covered parts of Perry, Knott and Breathitt counties.

Edelen said he hears a good deal of interest from local officials and others about developing solar projects.

“It is a historic opportunity to make sure people that largely powered the economy the last hundred years have an opportunity to participate in the economy the next hundred years,” Edelen said.