Supporting The World Bank on coal mining land suitability for renewable energy repurposing

Coal-fired electricity generation accounts for around 30 percent of global CO2 emissions, with the majority of coal power generation currently occurring in Asia. Since 1995, The World Bank has provided more than US$3 billion to support countries to retire coal mines, and repurpose former mining lands and coal-fired power plants.

The Bank sought a high-level analysis of repurposing opportunities for coal mining lands in four SE Asian countries: Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.

Our approach

TBC, in collaboration with the Vienna University of Business and Economics (WU), undertook a spatial analysis of the renewable energy repurposing potential of SE Asian coal mines. TBC reviewed factors influencing the location of solar and wind energy development, and interviewed stakeholders to identify national policies influencing mine repurposing. Curated spatial factors for solar and wind siting were combined with a published dataset of potential pumped hydroelectric storage locations, and overlaid on WU's dataset of more than 1,500 coal mines in the target countries, with analyses completed by WU. Given the scale of the data, an online map was developed by WU to help The World Bank and stakeholders visualise and interpret the results.

Outcomes

The project delivered a list of potentially suitable mines for renewable energy repurposing, highlighting mines with solar, wind and pumped hydro repurposing potential. Most of the mining lands potentially suitable for repurposing are located in Indonesia and Vietnam, due to their extensive coal mining lands and relatively high solar resources and pumped hydro potential.

This analysis provides stakeholders in the region, including banks, governments, investors, mining companies and renewable energy developers, with a broad understanding of renewable energy repurposing potential across SE Asian coal mining lands. This knowledge can facilitate site-level repurposing investigations to take a more targeted look at the untapped potential for renewable energy-focused repurposing in the region.