The Ohio Power Siting Board has unanimously approved a permit for 149 megawatts of solar generation paired with 149 megawatts of battery storage at the Hamden Energy site in Vinton County, in the state's southeastern quadrant. Developer Recurrent Energy secured the approval last month in a case that drew no opposition from any party — a sharp departure from the norm for solar permitting in Ohio.

The difference sits in the ground itself. Hamden Energy will occupy reclaimed coal mine land, a siting category that has consistently generated less resistance than greenfield projects in a state where farmland conversion has become the standard objection to solar development. Vinton County's commissioners declined to block the project, an option available to them under a 2021 statute that erected extra hurdles for solar and wind projects while leaving fossil fuel generation untouched.

"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, a senior development manager for Recurrent Energy.

Vinton County mirrors much of Appalachian Ohio. Coal, iron, and clay extraction defined its economy for a century before production collapsed. Even after two decades of economic growth, roughly 19% of county residents live in poverty.

Brownfield economics carry a premium

The siting advantage is not free. Projects on former mine lands and industrial brownfields typically cost more to develop than greenfields because of site conditions and remediation requirements, according to RMI, a clean energy think tank. Trunzo declined to disclose cost figures for Hamden Energy but acknowledged that specialized methods and equipment may be needed to adapt to the site's soils and terrain.

Remediation sequencing is the project's operative condition. The surface mining permit for the property sits with Cheyenne Resources, which bears responsibility for reclamation, confirmed Andy Chow, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Recurrent Energy has committed to start construction only after that reclamation work is complete. Among the roughly 25 commenters in the case docket and speakers at a June 10 local hearing, the most common concern was whether reclamation would finish before construction begins.

Hamden Energy is not the state's first coal-to-solar conversion. Regulators approved the Vinton Solar Energy Center in 2018, and developer Invenergy still has that project under construction. Other states are pursuing similar siting on former mine lands.

Policy pipeline points to more conversions

Ohio's project pipeline on former mine lands is set to expand under House Bill 15, a 2025 law that makes former mine lands and industrial brownfields eligible for treatment as priority investment areas. RMI data puts the state's potentially qualifying acreage at more than 70,000 acres. Designation rules from the Ohio Department of Development took effect two months ago, and agency spokesperson Brian Bohnert said the state has begun identifying its first areas under the program. Of the two sites designated through late August, one combines former coal mine land with an industrial site.

"The reuse of former mining land for new energy production is a win-win for Ohio consumers and the environment," said Rebecca Mellino, associate director of climate and energy policy for The Nature Conservancy. Mellino noted that HB 15 also allows counties to host solar on former mine sites and brownfields despite exclusions that would otherwise apply under Senate Bill 52, the 2021 law that added obstacles for renewable energy development.

The broader siting climate remains hostile. Clean energy developers still face bans and vetoes under SB 52, and regulators have often blocked projects on the basis of unanimous local government opposition regardless of whether opponents' arguments rested on fact. A bill passed by the Ohio Senate this spring, SB 294, now before the Ohio House, could make permitting harder still — if not impossible — for many solar and wind projects.

"Projects like Hamden Energy are vital to bringing sustainable, affordable, and dependable energy online," said Chris Tavenor, general counsel for the Ohio Environmental Council, a party in the case. But, he cautioned, "without reform to the energy siting process, energy costs will remain high, and we will continue to see energy prices rise along with demand. We acknowledge this win, while also recognizing that we have much more work ahead."

The next milestones to track: completion of Cheyenne Resources' reclamation at the Hamden site, which gates Recurrent's construction start, and the Ohio House's action on SB 294, which will determine whether the state's mine-land-to-solar pipeline faces a new statutory wall.