Becoming renewable energy zones: deploying clean energy infrastructure on abandoned mines for sustainable development

Renewable energy developments, if properly planned and equitably implemented, can contribute to the achievement of sustainable development (SD). Informed by the SD theory and the United Nations’ SD Goals (SDGs), this article examines the opportunities and challenges presented by renewable energy projects that occur on previously mined landscapes. As the construction of renewable energy projects grows to meet the escalating demand of the global decarburization agenda, more land is being consumed, leading to land use conflicts between the agricultural and conservation sectors and the renewable energy industry. To minimize these conflicts, the industry is increasingly considering the redevelopment of abandoned or closed mines for clean energy infrastructure. A critical review of 26 peer-reviewed social science articles that focus mainly on the conversion of abandoned or closed mines to renewable energy identified opportunities that can contribute to the realization of some SDGs, and challenges to such achievements. The findings show that mine-to-renewable energy conversions offer several benefits, including reducing pressure on undisturbed land, accelerating remediation of contaminated sites, generating new employment opportunities, revitalizing regional economies, and improving energy access and security—contributing directly to SDGs. Identified challenges include uneven community participation, regulatory and policy gaps, investor hesitation, environmental uncertainties, and the potential reproduction of historical injustices such as land dispossession, inadequate compensation, and cumulative displacement. Such a review is essential in terms of igniting debate surrounding the complexities associated with these projects, providing urgently needed data for policy formulation and practice, as well as outlining directions for future research.