Perry County Moves Toward Interlocal Agreement for Coal-to-Solar Starfire Project

Perry County Fiscal Court added a resolution to its Feb. 26, 2026, special-call agenda authorizing an interlocal agreement with Breathitt and Knott counties related to the Starfire Solar Project, the multi-phase solar development planned for the footprint of the former Starfire mine. The agenda text provided to reporters was truncated in public materials and the full resolution language and execution status remain to be confirmed with county officials.

BrightNight, the developer identified in project materials, describes the Starfire Renewable Power Project as sited on 7,000 acres across Perry, Knott, and Breathitt counties and as “more than 800-megawatts” in scale. BrightNight materials state, “This project will meet the region’s energy needs and provide dispatchable renewable power through energy storage systems,” and call the plan “an industry-leading opportunity” to “transform one of the Midwest’s largest coal mines into a clean renewable power project.”

State-level approvals are already in play. OhioRiverValleyInstitute summarized Lexington Herald-Leader reporting that “This month, the Kentucky Siting Board approved a 210-MW solar array, planned to be the first of four construction phases of BrightNight’s Starfire solar project, a proposed 810-MW array that will stretch across reclaimed mine lands in Breathitt, Knott, and Perry counties.” The Siting Board order noted in that reporting does not mandate local hiring; OhioRiverValleyInstitute reported the developer has said it will “encourage local hiring.”

Local labor and civic groups are organizing to press for enforceable commitments. The Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky hosts a Starfire Community Coalition that says, “Local community members are forming the Starfire Community Coalition to explore, alongside BrightNight and fellow community members, how tools like a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) could help ensure the Starfire Project brings meaningful and lasting economic benefits to the region.” The coalition’s materials list a current CBA draft titled “2026.01.15 Starfire CBA” and specify negotiated items including “Solar grazing with local shepherds,” “Field trip opportunities for local students to learn about energy,” “Study potential flood impacts this solar project could cause and implement stormwater management solutions,” “Local hiring for project construction and a Project Labor Agreement with local unions,” and a proposal to “Give a significant amount to a community fund to run local programs and services through the Breathitt, Perry, Knott, and Floyd Community Foundations.” The coalition lists LiUNA Local 1445, Central Midwest Carpenters Millwright Local 1076, and Central Midwest Carpenters Local 472 as participating organizations.

Project timing and local economic stakes are prominent in public materials. Appalachianky’s coalition page says construction is expected to commence in 2026, while OhioRiverValleyInstitute links federal tax-credit rules and prevailing-wage incentives to projects that “commence construction by mid-2026.” BrightNight’s promotional materials underline regional need, noting, “Today, of the 3,142 U.S. counties ranked for life expectancy, Perry County ranks 3,140th,” and outside reporting recalls the former Starfire coal mine “once employed nearly 300 people.”

With the Perry County agenda item signaling intergovernmental coordination, the immediate questions for county leaders and BrightNight include the full interlocal agreement text, whether the county courts have approved and executed it, and how community benefit commitments in the 2026.01.15 CBA draft will be reconciled with the Siting Board approvals and BrightNight’s public statements about hiring and construction timing. Observers will watch whether the next formal documents tie specific local-hiring, community-fund, and stormwater provisions to project approvals and construction schedules.