Black Mines Going Green

Green transition delivers economic， social， and environmental benefits for a coal-mining hub.

FOR decades， Shanxi Province had thrivedas the largest coal producer in Chinawith its rich abundance of the black rockdeposits. But that prosperity came at acost： Its mining industry used to be a source ofhigh pollution， leaving the region soot-blackenedall year round. As China entered the era of highqualitydevelopment， it became clear that thisinland province must balance economic growthwith environmental health.

Tech-Driven Transition

Over the past years， Shanxi has made noticeableprogress in the green transition by fosteringa new energy system and advancing the energy revolution. A number of wind power and photovoltaicprojects have been launched across thisregion， including a six-million-kW wind and solarpower base in the north， which is expected to provide27 billion kW of clean electricity to Beijing，Tianjin， and Hebei every year after it is put intooperation.

Last year the operating revenues of bothShanxi’s photovoltaic and wind power equipmentmanufacturing industries exceeded RMB20 billion， a year-on-year growth of more than 40percent. By the end of June this year， the installedcapacity of its new energy production topped 55million kW， an amount well above the nationalaverage， marking a steep increase from the 20 millionkW five years ago.

Despite these developments， since coal remainsa major source of power for China and most of theworld as well， the coal industry cannot be left outin the ongoing green drive. For this reason， smarttechnologies have greatly aided Shanxi’s efforts toreduce emissions and costs， increase efficiency，and enhance mine safety. By the end o4efb9103d65984729e935b67c801652e3bb2e8deb0b4fde7e943dd8ee39242f5f 2023， allcoal mines in the province with the annual productioncapacity above 1.8 million tonnes hadbegun upgrading their operations with new， smarttechnologies. Today， the region has already completed118 smart mines and 1，491 smart workingfaces – the surface where mining work is conducted.There are 30 more pilot mines presently in theworks， which will employ advanced drilling technologyto minimize impact on the environment.

Other kinds of new technologies have also beenadopted in the post-mining process. For example，the process of producing methanol with coke ovengas， a byproduct of coal carbonization to producecoke， can both slash emissions and generate profits.

To replicate these experiences on a provincialwide scale， the Shanxi energy administration hascollected 124 success cases in smart transformationfrom coal mines around the region， coveringevery aspect of the mining industry， includingdigging， washing， transportation， and informationinfrastructure. In March this year， a specialindustrial Internet platform was launched toserve the needs of the coal industry， the first of itskind in China. It provides enterprises in the sectorwith access to data of over 400 coal mines and large-scale training services that are critical forconducting research and developing intelligentproducts in the coal industry.

As China has set the goals of achieving carbondioxide emissions peak by 2030 and carbon neutralityby 2060， the green transition of Shanxi’scoal industry facilitates meeting these goals， andboosts sustainable development in the region.

Society-Wide Change

China has paid increasing attention to environmentalprotection over the past years. At the18th National Congress of the Communist Partyof China （CPC） in 2012， the CPC declared Chinawould “fully implement the overall plan for promotingeconomic， political， cultural， social， andecological progress.” At its 19th National Congressheld in 2017， the CPC announced that China “willcarry out major projects to protect and restorekey ecosystems … and work to develop a newmodel of modernization with humans developingin harmony with nature.” To implement theserequirements， the Shanxi government has placedenvironmental advances high on its agenda and laid out strategic plans for green development.Taking science-based approaches and harnessingthe power of technological innovation， it hascarried out programs to improve eco-systems in asystemic and comprehensive manner， and combatthe source of pollution.

To ensure that these efforts proceed smoothlyin accordance with the rule of law， Shanxi has enacteda number of statutes about various naturalresources such as forests， forest parks， wetlands，and rivers. The two sets of regulations on commercialforestry and grazing bans， moratorium，and rotational grazing are both the first regionallegal rules that China has passed in these fields.Another policy provides the 3.4 million hectaresof permanent non-commercial forests in theprovince with legal protection.Following the approvalof these legislative regulations，the local governmenthas formulated guidelines andaction plans for their enforcement.

Shanxi is endeavoring to expand the green trend into every aspect of workand life throughout the province. In 2022 thelocal government launched an online platformSanjin （another name for Shanxi） Green Life toencourage locals to take active steps to shrinktheir carbon footprint. It has so far attracted 6.3million participants， and the carbon reductionthey made reached 197，000 tonnes.

Shanxi has also become a forerunner in buildingnew-energy infrastructure. Last year alone itinstalled 30，500 public charging poles for electricvehicles， increasing the total number to 63，600across the province and making them available inall service areas along its expressways.

To make environmental protection a sustainableeffort， it needs to deliver economic gains.To achieve this， Shanxi is exploring ways to tapthe economic potential of forest carbon sinks，promote carbon trade， and develop ecologicalproducts. During the first compliance cycle ofthe national market for trading carbon emissionrights （ January 1 - December 31， 2021）， it registereda compliance rate of 99.68 percent， abovethe national average.

Benefits of the green drive are also palpable forordinary people. Extensive afforestation has alleviatedsoil erosion and boosted agricultural output.The expansion of commercial forests is opening anew source of income for farmers and has laid thefoundation for biomass energy production. Blueskies， lush mountains， and clear waters make thishistory-rich province more appealing to tourists，and also create numerous business and employmentopportunities.

With these heartening changes underway， Shanxiis moving closer to realizing China’s dream of creatingan environment in which humans and naturelive harmoniously together and achieving the goalof building a beautiful modern province. Formerlyknown as the black sea of coal， this ancient land bythe Yellow River today is gaining green momentumin its pursuit of both environmental protection andhigh-quality development.

LIU JING is the deputy chief and secretary general of theEco-Environment Special Fund of China Biodiversity Conservationand Green Development Foundation， and deputydirector of the eco-environment channel of China.org.cn.