In a landmark report launched this month, International Vitality Monitor reveals that changing just lately closed and soon-to-be-retired coal mines into photo voltaic farms might increase international photo voltaic capability by almost 300 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 — a 15% enhance over right this moment’s complete put in photo voltaic base.
The report, titled “Shiny Facet of the Mine,” presents a compelling case for remodeling greater than 5,800 sq. kilometers of degraded mine land into clear vitality hubs. International Vitality Monitor’s (GEM) evaluation, the primary of its sort, surveys over 300 floor coal mines closed since 2020 and one other 127 projected to shut by 2030, estimating their mixed photo voltaic potential at 288 GW.
Grid-Prepared, Job-Wealthy, & Environmentally Sensible
Among the many report’s key findings: almost all recognized mine websites lie inside 10 kilometers of current grid infrastructure, providing a uncommon benefit for fast photo voltaic deployment. These transitions might create an estimated 577,000 jobs worldwide — with 259,700 everlasting roles and 317,500 in development — greater than offsetting the roles projected to be misplaced within the coal mining sector by 2035.
“The legacy of coal is written into the land, however that legacy doesn’t need to outline the long run. The coal mine to photo voltaic transition is underway, and this potential is able to be unlocked in main coal producers like Australia, the U.S., Indonesia and India. Repurposing mines for photo voltaic improvement provides a uncommon probability to deliver collectively land restoration, native job creation, and clear vitality deployment in a single technique. With the correct decisions, the identical floor that powered the economic period may also help energy the local weather options we now urgently want.”– Cheng Cheng Wu, Challenge Supervisor for the Vitality Transition Tracker at International Vitality Monitor
China, Australia, & The US Lead The Means
China presently leads the coal-to-solar transition with 90 operational mine-to-solar tasks totaling 14 GW, and one other 9 GW in improvement. Australia, with greater than 1,470 km² of mine websites, might help 73 GW, which is double its present photo voltaic fleet. The US follows with 217 eligible websites that would host 49 GW, an important alternative amid nationwide discussions on vitality transition and financial renewal in coal areas.
India, South Africa, and Indonesia are additionally highlighted for his or her important potential. India might host 27 GW on 500 km² of coal land, a lot of it in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh — coal heartlands with rising renewable vitality wants.
Past Panels: Storage, Jobs, & Simply Transition
Repurposed coal mines usually are not simply websites for photo voltaic panels. Some are being thought of for inexperienced hydrogen, battery storage, pumped hydro, and even geothermal vitality. Others are combining photo voltaic with agriculture, ecological restoration, or pollinator meadows.
This multi-use method may also help meet local weather and biodiversity objectives whereas providing employment pathways to displaced coal staff. GEM estimates 2.1 jobs per megawatt of put in photo voltaic, and emphasizes that considerate redevelopment might be a cornerstone of a simply transition for fossil-dependent communities.
Limitations & Options
Whereas the potential is gigantic, challenges stay. Authorized hurdles, possession disputes, advanced allowing, and better upfront prices (attributable to land remediation and terrain) can stall tasks. However favorable insurance policies, tax credit, and public-private financing might tip the scales.
Within the US, the Clear Vitality Demonstration Program on Present and Former Mine Land supplied $450 million in 2023, however future funding stays unsure. In the meantime, in Europe and Asia, subnational governments and firms like RWE and Jinneng are pushing forward with transformative tasks on former coalfields.
A International Name To Motion
GEM’s report urges governments, builders, and buyers to deal with deserted coal mines not as relics of the previous, however as launchpads for photo voltaic futures. The 300 GW alternative just isn’t merely technical, it’s a strategic probability to fulfill local weather targets, revitalize economies, and repurpose land as soon as left to decay.
The report concludes,
“The coal-to-solar alternative just isn’t theoretical. The world’s largest coal-producing areas maintain the best potential for photo voltaic improvement on disturbed lands, in these locations the place grid connections usually exist already, the place expert labor forces stand prepared, and the place reclamation is urgently wanted. However realizing this potential will take deliberate motion. The transformation would require coverage frameworks that prioritize renewable improvement on mine lands, funding methods that acknowledge the worth of linking reclamation with clear vitality, and group engagement that places native jobs and native voices on the middle of the work. However with the correct decisions, the identical floor that powered the economic age may also help energy the local weather options we now urgently want.”
Learn the complete report at International Vitality Monitor.
Picture by Chris Münch on Unsplash
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