The solar plant will be located on the site of a former coal mine in Kentucky. Credit: Rivian.

Florida-based renewable energy developer BrightNight is set to build an 800MW solar plant at the former Starfire coal mine in Kentucky.

The 800MW BrightNight Starfire Renewable Energy Center’s development is being supported by electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive and environmental organisation the Nature Conservancy.

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The solar plant is being built with an investment of around $1bn.

It is expected to be the largest renewable energy project in the state and one of the largest in the country to be built on former coal mining land. When completed, it will generate enough electricity to power more than 170,000 households annually.

The project will also include a 20-mile (32km) transmission line, which will enable the transmission of an additional 1GW of local renewable projects, to be built in the future.

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It will be built in four phases, with construction on phase one expected to begin in 2025. This phase is anticipated to have 180MW of capacity spread over 7,000 acres of land within Perry, Knott and Breathitt counties in the state.

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It is expected to create up to 300 jobs during construction and could generate between $100m and $150m in tax revenue for the local government.

BrightNight CEO Martin Hermann said: “Together, we are transforming a coal mine, reinvesting in a region eager to continue its role as an energy leader, and demonstrating the incredible impact of corporate power procurement.”

Rivian has agreed to purchase 100MW of renewable energy from this phase.

As per the power purchase agreement (PPA), the electric sports utility vehicle maker will buy enough clean energy to power up to 450 million miles of driving annually.

Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said: “Shifting our energy system toward carbon neutrality goes beyond electrifying the roughly 1.5 billion vehicles in the global fleet. We must also support the decarbonisation of our energy infrastructure through the responsible deployment of renewable energy.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with organisations like the Nature Conservancy and BrightNight to bring Starfire to life and help create a scalable model for a modern grid that provides reliable, affordable and carbon-free energy for all.”