Retired Coal Mines Can Give a Boost to Solar Energy, Report Says

Coal mines abandoned this decade could be used to house about 288 gigawatts of solar panels, more than all the power plants in Germany, from otherwise deserted land, according to a new report by Global Energy Monitor.

Dozens of such projects have already been built in China, the world’s biggest coal miner and solar developer, while there are also massive opportunities in Australia, Indonesia and the US, the report’s authors found. The developments would also create jobs in former mining areas and provide incentives to clean up land scarred by heavy industrial activity.

A floating solar farm built on the site of a former coal mine, since filled with water, in Huainan.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

“Repurposing mines for solar development ...