NYSERDA has awarded Swift Current Energy’s Mineral Basin Solar project a 20-year power contract as part of New York’s state investment in renewable energy.
The 402 MW AC project, in Clearfield County, Pa., is the largest solar facility in Pennsylvania and one of the largest solar facilities in the U.S. to be sited on former mine land. Construction of the project could begin as soon as next summer and is scheduled to be online by the second half of 2026. Swift Current is set to remain the long-term owner and operator of the solar plant.
“Clearfield County and Goshen and Girard Townships have contributed to the energy economy in the form of coal mining for generations,” says Eric Lammers, Swift Current Energy co-founder and CEO.
“The development, construction and operation of the Mineral Basin Solar project will continue the community’s leadership in energy production and show how former mine sites can be innovatively repurposed at scale for a new and restorative purpose in the nation’s energy landscape.”
The construction of Mineral Basin Solar will create more than 450 direct full-time construction jobs. Greenhouse gas emissions avoided as a result of this solar project is set to be equivalent to removing 110,000 gas-powered cars from the road each year.
Swift Current has partnered with Clearfield County Career and Technology Center and Clearly Ahead Development to develop renewable energy workforce training opportunities. Additionally, Mineral Basin Solar is also engaging the communities served by the Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board in western New York.
Mineral Basin Solar is the largest land-based energy project to be selected as a part of NYSERDA’s competitive solicitation.
