University of Kentucky Starfire Research Complex

Author: Brendan Muckian-Bates, Policy & Advocacy Associate

In 2005, one year after the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) was formed, the University of Kentucky’s retired chair of the Department of Forestry, Don Graves, provided insight into what the future of this new initiative would entail. “If we get surface mines back into production,” Graves stated, discussing the role of larger-scale reforestation projects under ARRI’s auspices, “we’ll have economic return from wood production on the mines again. We’ll have recreation, wildlife, tourism, good water, better air, all those things.”

The university began experimenting on mine reclamation at one of Kentucky’s largest coal mines, Starfire, in 1997. One hectare reclamation cells were created atop former reclaimed land using spoil from an active mining site. The spoil was a non-acidic shale and sandstone, dumped closely in abutted piles roughly 2-2.5m high and leveled off with small bulldozers. Individual plots of white pine, white ash, black walnut, white oak, and other one-year-old nursery stock seedlings were then planted on the site.

Best practices for mine land reforestation were in nascent stages of development at this point, though consensus was beginning to form between Virginia and Kentucky foresters.

Since the 1980s, the site itself had been extensively mined in a largely forested area. Researchers identified that compacted soil areas at Starfire had tree survival rates that were significantly lower than in areas where loose soil dumping was used. Compaction occurs when traditional, or non-Forestry Reclamation Approaches (FRA) reforestation methods, are used. This happens when sites are reclaimed quickly, where hard rocks and mine soil are left in a tight area that inhibits root growth and prevents vegetation diversity. At the Starfire site, researchers at the University of Kentucky tested the effect of limiting soil compaction prior to planting trees on the site.

Reducing compaction has become a core step in the FRA. In 2006, researchers examining tree growth and regeneration on decompacted surface mine soil in eastern Kentucky found that the survival and growth rates of native species was the result of the newly-developed FRA method. The average survival rate of all planted species was 88 percent, with Green Ash (94.7%), White Oak (92.7%), and Red Oak (88.9%) all having significantly high rates of survival, while the mean tree height showed growth in all but three spoil types. As would later be understood by ARRI foresters, maturation occurs in stages and noticeable growth doesn’t occur until almost five years after planting, or as Chris Barton of Green Forests Work explains it, “Sleep (1-2 years post-planting), Creep (3-4 years post-planting), Leap (5-6 years post-planting).” Appalachian native trees – such as white pine, red oak, and black walnut – were beginning to show a high probability of survival. A lusher forest, one that would have existed prior to mining, was being recreated.

Starfire Mine operated from the 1960s through the 1990s. At its peak, Starfire employed nearly 300 people and extracted over 3 million tons of coal annually. Like many mines in the area, it became the hub of regional economic activity and employment for local residents.

The closing of Starfire had drastic effects on Breathitt, Knott, and Perry counties. Each of these three counties has seen a steady decline in population and economic distress over the past two decades. Perry (-6.2%), Breathitt (-13%), and Knott (-20.5%) have all witnessed a shrinking population from 2002-2022. Out of the 423 counties within the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), 82 were deemed “distressed” and 101 “at-risk” in FY 2024; all three counties were included. Indeed, of Kentucky’s 54 Appalachian counties, 36 counties were distressed and 15 were “at risk,” the highest percentage of any state in Appalachia. Kentucky ranked 47th for life expectancy in 2019 and both Perry and Breathitt have some of the lowest life expectancies of all US counties.

However, a new energy project is now developing at the Starfire site that could bring in a new market for solar power in the region while building off of the work of reforestation efforts in these impacted counties. In July 2023, Rivian, BrightNight, and The Nature Conservancy joined forces to partner on the development of the upcoming BrightNight Starfire Renewable Energy Center. What will soon become the “largest renewable power plant in Kentucky” and “one of the largest in the nation to be built on former mine lands” represents the culmination of years of planning, reforestation, and research on this site. Jennifer Morris, CEO of The Nature Conservancy, stated of this large renewable energy project that, “We need to be using lands that are already degraded, like here, this 7,000 acre area, where we can actually continue the tradition of eastern Kentucky as a powerhouse of energy production.” Danna Baxley, Director of Conservation with The Nature Conservancy of Kentucky, likewise stated that early coordination between these organizations and the University of Kentucky is ongoing to maintain reforestation and minimize fragmentation.

Recent federal programs now exist to support the development of solar energy farms. As a result of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the USDA provided $145 million for 700 loans and grants through their Rural Energy for America Program, supporting farmers and rural businesses switch to solar energy. The Department of Energy likewise has a $27 million Energy Future Grants program supporting local governments collaboration with utility companies to benefit disadvantaged communities. Additional investments in the IRA focus on energy communities, those areas where there are higher rates of unemployment and disproportionately impacted by the local legacy of the fossil fuel industry. The Starfire Renewal Energy site is one such recipient of this investment.

The impact of conservation and interpretation services along with the support of ARRI reforestation of the area could increase the likelihood of new economic development projects in eastern Kentucky, too. Maribeth Sawchuk, Vice President of Communications for BrightNight Power, stated that, “[O]ur work here is likely to impact the selection of future sites, especially future mine sites, as we work to demonstrate the feasibility of reforestation and the draw it has on C&Is prioritizing conservation in their sustainability.” Additionally, BrightNight is continuing to coordinate with The Nature Conservancy and the University of Kentucky to “help identify boundary areas of the project ideal for the reforestation of White Oak and the American Chestnut.”

The four phases of construction are set to begin in 2025, with a completion date of 2030. According to BrightNight Power’s website, the site will include 7,000 acres of revitalized land, supporting over 250 local jobs at each phase with $100-150 million in local tax revenue. BrightNight expects to have an 800-megawatt capacity, powering over 170,000 households annually, along with a twenty-mile transmission line allowing for an additional 1 gigawatt renewable power generator.

Starfire mine, like many throughout central Appalachia, continues to play a role in the economic trajectory of this region. First, as an extractive site with a regional economy built up around it; second, as a transitional and research site to better reclaim former mine lands; and third, as a hub for new economic development opportunities in historically-distressed communities. With existing federal investments in renewable energy projects and further reclamation of former mine sites, new economic development opportunities exist in the coalfields.