Focus on Coal
often give increased elevation and exposure to enable increased output, while underlying land can also still be used for other purposes. However, there may be technical challenges to overcome due to the nature and stability of the dump material and constructing adequate foundations for turbines.
Fig. 2. Mine sites often cover extensive areas of up to thousands of hectares or more where wind and solar power structures have less environmental impact.
Solar power Former mine sites can be ideal locations for solar energy generation, thanks to their often expansive and exposed positions, especially in areas with an aspect facing the sun (south facing in the northern hemisphere, north facing in the southern hemisphere). Germany is the world leader in solar energy technology and production and is utilising its old mine sites in this way. Te Geosol solar plant at Espenhain, Leipzig, constructed on a former lignite mine ash site, generates five megawatts – enough for 1800 households – and saves around 3700 tonnes of CO2
every year. Te UK’s
first large-scale solar photovoltaic farms has recently been constructed on the site of the former Wheal Jane mine in Cornwall, UK.
Geothermal heating Since the ambient temperature of the Earth increases with depth, underground mine workings provide a convenient collection point for groundwater that may be sufficiently warm to enable its exploitation for raising the starting temperature of the water used in buildings and horticulture for heating and hot water, often involving ground-source or water-source heat pumps. Mine and quarry sites can also offer opportunities for access to deep geothermal resources, involving hotter water or super-heated steam power generation via a turbine. Geothermal heat is expected to come on-stream in the very near future from the heat stored in the water at the flooded former underground coal mine workings at the Cape Breton site that once supplied half of Canada’s coal.
Energy crops Post-mining land, such as from large scale strip mining, can offer a more sustainable model for
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