Green is the new black: Muswellbrook solar farm and the coal-to-solar transition
Turning closed coal mines into solar energy plants could add almost 300 GW of renewable energy by 2030.
Energy mining, i.e. mining for coal and nuclear that will subsequently be used for energy generation, is not required by renewable energy. Therefore, land can be reclaimed upstream as society phases out fossil fuels.
Researchers from Global Energy Monitor estimate that turning recently closed coal mines into solar energy plants could add almost 300 GW of renewable energy by 2030. With an established connection to the grid, and potential to reskill coal workers to work within the renewables industry, the coal-to-solar transition has potential to be scaled up across the world.
The additional benefits of a coal-to-solar transition is that surrounding air- and water quality can improve, contributing to healthy conditions for local communities and ecosystems. It is also a transition that can meet multiple policy objectives, whereby solar farm’s ability to co-exist with plants and animals.
Muswellbrook solar farm
OX2 in partnership with Idemitsu Australia is planning the Muswellbrook Solar Farm, featuring a 135MW solar farm and a 135MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) across 482 hectares. The project is located within the Hunter Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), meaning that the government has identified it as a suitable location to develop renewable energy projects. The project recently received EPBC approval, Australia’s central piece of environmental legislation.
Scalability potential
According to Global Coal Mine Tracker, a comprehensive dataset of coal mines hosted by Global Energy Monitor, there is potential to scale the coal-to-solar transition. It estimates that since 2020, coal mines that collectively add up to the size of 2,089 square kilometers – nearly the size of Luxembourg. It also estimates that an additional area of 3,731 square kilometers will be made accessible by 2030 because of coal mines being closed down.
The coal-to-solar transition is already underway, in Australia and other countries. The Nature Conservatory, global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive, highlights that other brownfields (landfills, former industrial sites and similar) are suitable to become solar farms too, which is a win-win-win solution for climate, conservation and communities.
Coal to solar is a shining example of the move from fossil fuels to renewables. In the new energy era, green is the new black.
Read more about the Muswellbrook Solar Farm project here.