Old Coal Mines Can Win a Second Life as Green Energy Hotspots
- Study examines turning coal operations into pumped hydro sites
- Other projects aim to add wind, solar at shuttered mines
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Australia is studying plans to transform a disused underground coal mine into a pumped hydro facility, part of a wider effort to reuse retiring fossil fuel sites for renewable energy generation.
The A$13 million ($9.9 million) pilot trial at the Newstan Colliery, in Fassifern, about 140 kilometers (87 miles) northeast of Sydney, could offer a blueprint for dozens of expiring mines that’ll be retired in coming decades, according to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.