Transformed Coal Mining Lands
Peixian, Xuzhou, Transformed Barren Land into Solar Farms
Colin Smith — October 25, 2025
China is repurposing decommissioned coal mining areas into renewable energy hubs by installing large‑scale photovoltaic arrays, wind farms, and supporting grid infrastructure on reclaimed land, aiming to convert former industrial sites into electricity generation zones and economic redevelopment areas. Projects combine land rehabilitation with energy development, leveraging existing transmission corridors and local workforce retraining programmes to accelerate construction and connect new generation to regional grids.
The initiative seeks to address multiple policy objectives, reducing coal dependence, lowering emissions, and sustaining local employment, by transforming legacy fossil‑fuel sites into contributors to the clean‑energy transition through distributed and utility‑scale renewables and associated storage solutions. Local authorities and developers report ancillary benefits such as improved land use, tourism potential on rehabilitated sites, and diversified income streams for affected communities while aligning with provincial and national targets for renewable capacity expansion.
