Coal and Solar, Together at Last—Inside India’s Renewable Pivot Underground

In a big step toward greener mining, the Parsa East and Kanta Basan coal mine in Chhattisgarh has started running on solar power. The mine, which supplies electricity to millions in Rajasthan, now draws energy from a 9 MW solar plant built right on site. The facility was set up by Mundra Solar PV, part of Adani Green Energy.

 

Key highlights:

 

- The solar plant covers 30 acres of reclaimed mining land.

- It’s expected to cut carbon emissions by about 400,000 tonnes over 25 years.

- That’s roughly the same as planting 2.5 million trees.

- The mine has already planted 1.5 million trees and runs education programs for over 1,000 local kids.

 

Ambikapur MLA Rajesh Agrawal called it a model for responsible mining, and there’s more in the pipeline. They’re also working on bringing in hydrogen-powered trucks to reduce transport emissions.

 

Outlook: This project is the first of its kind in India, and it could push other coal mines to follow suit. If it works well, it might change how we think about energy transitions in heavier industries. And with the government leaning hard into sustainability goals, we’ll likely see more experiments like this in the coming years.

 

Source: The New Indian Express