Black Mines Going Green

For decades, Shanxi Province had thrived as the largest coal producer in China with its rich abundance of the black rock deposits. But that prosperity came at a cost: Its mining industry used to be a source of high pollution, leaving the region soot-blackened all year round. As China entered the era of high-quality development, it became clear that this inland province must balance economic growth with environmental health.

Tech-driven transition

Over the past years, Shanxi has made noticeable progress in the green transition by fostering a new energy system and advancing the energy revolution. A number of wind power and photovoltaic projects have been launched across this region, including a six-million-kW wind and solar power base in the north, which is expected to provide 27 billion kW of clean electricity to Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei every year after it is put into operation.

Last year the operating revenues of both Shanxi’s photovoltaic and wind power equipment manufacturing industries exceeded RMB 20 billion, a year-on-year growth of more than 40 percent. By the end of June this year, the installed capacity of its new energy production topped 55 million kW, an amount well above the national average, marking a steep increase from the 20 million kW five years ago.

Despite these developments, since coal remains a major source of power for China and most of the world as well, the coal industry cannot be left out in the ongoing green drive. For this reason, smart technologies have greatly aided Shanxi’s efforts to reduce emissions and costs, increase efficiency, and enhance mine safety. By the end of 2023, all coal mines in the province with the annual production capacity above 1.8 million tonnes had begun upgrading their operations with new, smart technologies. Today, the region has already completed 118 smart mines and 1,491 smart working faces – the surface where mining work is conducted. There are 30 more pilot mines presently in the works, which will employ advanced drilling technology to minimize impact on the environment.

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

To replicate these experiences on a provincial wide scale, the Shanxi energy administration has collected 124 success cases in smart transformation from coal mines around the region, covering every aspect of the mining industry, including digging, washing, transportation, and information infrastructure. In March this year, a special industrial Internet platform was launched to serve the needs of the coal industry, the first of its kind in China. It provides enterprises in the sector with access to data of over 400 coal mines and large-scale training services that are critical for conducting research and developing intelligent products in the coal industry.

As China has set the goals of achieving carbon dioxide emissions peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, the green transition of Shanxi’s coal industry facilitates meeting these goals, and boosts sustainable development in the region.

Society-wide change

China has paid increasing attention to environmental protection over the past years. At the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, the CPC declared China would “fully implement the overall plan for promoting economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress.” At its 19th National Congress held in 2017, the CPC announced that China “will carry out major projects to protect and restore key ecosystems … and work to develop a new model of modernization with humans developing in harmony with nature.” To implement these requirements, the Shanxi government has placed environmental advances high on its agenda and laid out strategic plans for green development. Taking science-based approaches and harnessing the power of technological innovation, it has carried out programs to improve eco-systems in a systemic and comprehensive manner, and combat the source of pollution.

To ensure that these efforts proceed smoothly in accordance with the rule of law, Shanxi has enacted a number of statutes about various natural resources such as forests, forest parks, wetlands, and rivers. The two sets of regulations on commercial forestry and grazing bans, moratorium, and rotational grazing are both the first regional legal rules that China has passed in these fields. Another policy provides the 3.4 million hectares of permanent non-commercial forests in the province with legal protection. Following the approval of these legislative regulations, the local government has formulated guidelines and action plans for their enforcement.

Shanxi is endeavoring to expand the green trend into every aspect of work and life throughout the province. In 2022 the local government launched an online platform Sanjin (another name for Shanxi) Green Life to encourage locals to take active steps to shrink their carbon footprint. It has so far attracted 6.3 million participants, and the carbon reduction they made reached 197,000 tonnes.

Shanxi has also become a forerunner in building new-energy infrastructure. Last year alone it installed 30,500 public charging poles for electric vehicles, increasing the total number to 63,600 across the province and making them available in all service areas along its expressways.

To make environmental protection a sustainable effort, it needs to deliver economic gains. To achieve this, Shanxi is exploring ways to tap the economic potential of forest carbon sinks, promote carbon trade, and develop ecological products. During the first compliance cycle of the national market for trading carbon emission rights (January 1 – December 31, 2021), it registered a compliance rate of 99.68 percent, above the national average.

Benefits of the green drive are also palpable for ordinary people. Extensive afforestation has alleviated soil erosion and boosted agricultural output. The expansion of commercial forests is opening a new source of income for farmers and has laid the foundation for biomass energy production. Blue skies, lush mountains, and clear waters make this history-rich province more appealing to tourists, and also create numerous business and employment opportunities.

With these heartening changes underway, Shanxi is moving closer to realizing China’s dream of creating an environment in which humans and nature live harmoniously together and achieving the goal of building a beautiful modern province. Formerly known as the black sea of coal, this ancient land by the Yellow River today is gaining green momentum in its pursuit of both environmental protection and high-quality development.

Liu Jing is the deputy chief and secretary general of the Eco-Environment Special Fund of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, and deputy director of the eco-environment channel of China.org.cn.