Plans for mining region to become green powerhouse

The project hopes to bring further investment and jobs to the region (Photo: LEAG)

Germany-based energy company Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG (LEAG) is reportedly planning to deploy 7 GW of renewable energy capacity in the Lusatia mining areas by 2030. The company hopes that this will work by giving a significant boost to the energy transition in the region.

LEAG estimates that the plan will involve investments of more than €10 billion (US$9.7 billion) in addition to creating jobs in eastern Germany.

The initiative, nicknamed the GigawattFactory, will combine energy storage solutions, green hydrogen as well as wind and solar power plants to make environmentally friendly energy available in the eastern German region.

The photovoltaic (PV) and wind parks will be built on LEAG’s post-mining areas in cooperation with partner and project developer EP New Energies GmbH (EPNE).

EPNE’s managing director Dominique Guillou commented that the GigawattFactory with a capacity of 7 GW and the further potential beyond 2030 are a milestone in the German energy transition and will significantly advance the structural change in the opencast mining areas of Lusatia.