A leading U.S. coal producer is partnering with a major developer of renewable energy projects to put solar energy and battery storage installations on reclaimed mine lands in Illinois and Indiana.

Peabody Energy, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and RWE on Nov. 21 announced a collaboration that will “invest in the rural parts of the U.S. heartland and transform the sites into clean energy hubs.” The companies on Thursday said Germany-headquartered RWE is acquiring a majority interest in the R3 Renewables LLC ownership group alongside founding partner Peabody. R3 is a joint venture (JV) launched by Peabody, Summit Partners Credit Advisors (SPCA) and Riverstone Credit Partners in 2022. The JV repurposes land previously used for coal mining to develop renewable energy projects.

Hanson Wood, senior vice president of development at RWE, told POWER, “Peabody and RWE are committed to jointly exploring the development of solar and storage across Peabody’s global fleet of reclaimed mine lands.”

RWE is acquiring SPCA and Riverstone’s equity interest in R3 and Peabody will retain a 25% equity interest. The groups said the initiative expects to install more than 5.5 GW of solar energy and battery storage capacity across 10 potential projects. RWE said it will acquire seven of the projects, and enter into a JV with Peabody to continue development of the three remaining projects.

“This partnership is an exciting opportunity for RWE to invest in rural regions of Indiana and Illinois and bring strong economic development,” said Andrew Flanagan, CEO of RWE Clean Energy. “RWE is thrilled to partner with Peabody through R3 Renewables to develop solar projects using reclaimed land on a significant scale. Solar and storage facilities are a great way to bring economic development via construction jobs, local and domestic investment, and direct community benefits and taxes as well as a contribution to energy security. RWE is excited to expand this partnership across the U.S. and globally to ensure local communities can benefit from the economic generation of the energy transition.”

The groups said the initiative advances renewable energy development in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region, and also promotes economic development by creating local jobs and increasing tax revenues for nearby communities. Officials emphasized that the projects maintain existing agricultural lands.

Jim Grech, Peabody president and CEO, said, “Our new partnership with a globally recognized renewable energy leader represents significant added momentum in our initiatives to develop renewable projects on Peabody’s formerly mined lands. Peabody is committed to advancing environmental sustainability, creating additional value from our assets, and providing added economic benefits for the communities in which we work and live.”

R3 has several projects under development in southern Indiana and southern Illinois, where coal has been mined since the mid-1800s. The Nature Conservancy, a global nonprofit environmental orgainization, earlier this year published “Mining the Sun,” a report that offers guidance and policy recommendations for renewable energy projects on brownfield sites, including former mines and industrial sites.

The report said about 500 wind and solar projects, most of them small installations, are sited on brownfields across the U.S. The report offers analysis of renewable energy development potential in Illinois and Indiana as well as Ohio, Kentucky, Nevada, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Virginia.

Patrick Forkin, Peabody chief development officer and chairman of R3, said, “We are grateful to Riverstone and Summit for their partnership in assisting us in launching this joint venture. Championing the development of utility-scale solar and storage projects on reclaimed land previously used by our coal mining operations is consistent with our mission and beneficial for all our stakeholders.”

—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).