Repurposing mines for renewable energy : socio-environmental implications for local communities in Australia and Germany

Abstract

The demand for low-carbon energy to tackle the climate crisis requires large swathes of land to develop renewable energy infrastructure, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen, or pumped hydro. Claiming to avoid encroaching on already occupied landscapes where different forms of tenure exist, the energy industry is increasingly targeting closed and abandoned mine areas. This transformation not only promises to mitigate or address the ecological impact of mining but is also promoted as a means of local socio-economic development through employment creation, redressing energy poverty, and community benefit sharing within the renewable energy sector. However, these developments can have grave social and environmental impacts and thus may exacerbate transitional and intersectional inequalities and injustices. Hence, careful planning and stakeholder engagement are vital to ensuring that repurposing projects reflect the needs and values of impacted communities and the historical and political contexts of mining areas. Shedding light on the situation in Australia and Germany, two countries at the forefront of these new energy initiatives, this article presents perspectives from engineering and anthropology to discuss some of the social and environmental risks involved in the repurposing of mines. From these interdisciplinary conversations, we develop policy recommendations for a just energy transition and sketch some directions for future research.