Could a coal mine be a solar farm?

Patrick Pleul / picture alliance via Getty Images Recently shuttered coal mines around the world can have new life as solar farms, potentially adding nearly 300 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy by 2030, a first-of-its-kind analysis by researchers from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) has found.

How much solar power can a coal mine hold?

The first-time analysis shows that over 300 surface coal mines recently out of commission could house around 103 GW of photovoltaic (PV) solar capacity, and upcoming closures of large operations could host an additional 185 GW of solar across 127 sites (see Methodology).

Could repurposing coal-to-solar power power a 103 GW solar power project?

GEM’s Global Coal Mine Tracker, a comprehensive dataset of coal mines, has identified 311 surface coal mines that have been idled and degraded since 2020. These abandoned mines sprawl over 2,089 km², an area nearly the size of Luxembourg. With repurposing, these coal-to-solar projects could site 103 GW of solar power capacity on derelict lands.

Could solar power be built on abandoned coal mines?

These abandoned coal mines are predisposed to renewables siting with grid-adjacent and even pre-cleared acreage. If these potential solar projects came to fruition, the world could build almost 300 GW of solar capacity on mined out lands by the end of 2030.

How many coal mines can be repurposed for solar?

In total, that means an estimated 446 coal mines and 5,820 km² of abandoned land that could be repurposed for solar projects and generate nearly 300 GW of renewable energy. That’s a huge amount - equivalent to around 15 per cent of globally installed solar capacity today.

Does mining affect solar power generation?

Both scenarios have a minimal impact on solar power generation and show a close alignment with the reference case, which includes 47,390 mines (76.7% utilization), using 100% of stable mines, 30.5% of active mines and 37.0% of greening mines (Supplementary Fig. 1a).