In 2022, the US set aside $500 million for its Clean Energy Demonstration on Current and Former Mine Land Program to create new opportunities for clean, stable, community-based energy generation centers on old mining lands. The DOE has also released $28 million in funding to advance hydropower research and development as part of a $20 billion.
Technology may give them new life Michigan Technological University is studying whether communities could transform abandoned mines into valuable energy storage. University researchers are partnering with the Marquette County city of Negaunee, population 4,500, on a pilot project that could help mining communities turn liabilities into assets.
To assist mines specifically in accessing renewables, governments may need to review their tax exemptions and subsidies that currently apply to fossil fuel purchases or explore the possibility for carbon pricing or renewable energy portfolio standards (which can create tradable renewable energy certificates).
Based on the study “Enhancing electrical grid and community resilience through repurposing decommissioned mines into underground pumped storage facilities” and funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the “PUSHing for Storage” report was issued in April 2022.
Many of these activities can be electrified, allowing the use of more renewable based energy sources. Additionally, as the industry extracts more gold from underground reserves, the higher energy intensity of underground mining will further increase energy consumption.
For many mines, it only makes economic sense to integrate renewables to cover part of their load, for example, between 30% and 40% of total electricity demand -- using current renewable and control technologies (Guilbaud 2016).
Among other projects raising awareness and providing solid feasibility data, Tech's PUSH group is currently collaborating with Mine Storage, a Swedish company conducting numerous pilot projects to repurpose old mines. Mine Storage plans to site the first closed-loop underground pumped hydropower system in Sweden.
The Siemens Princeton Microgrid project was designed to address the challenges of decarbonization and distributed energy resilience. When Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey in October 2012, Princeton's Cogeneration Plant microgrid was able to generate power for campus, while also maintaining steam and chilled. In October 2012, Princeton University made headlines worldwide when over 8 million electric customers lost power during Superstorm Sandy and the university's microgrid kept its critical systems running, allowing the New Jersey-based Ivy League campus to serve as an electric refuge for faculty. Princeton's microgrid–which became well known for riding through Superstorm Sandy more than 13 years ago–has been upgraded with heat pumps and a large thermal storage tank that has boosted efficiency and saved millions of dollars in utility costs. An example is the microgrid at Princeton University. The plant produces electricity as well as steam used for heat, hot water and sterilization.
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