FROM COAL MINE TO HYDROPOWER STATION:

Coal mining is all but over at the 150-year-old Prosper Haniel anthracite mine in Bottrop, Germany, now earmarked for pumped storage electricity generation. When the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, excess renewable energy will be used to pump the mine’s underground water to surface for release down through turbines when the sun sets or the wind dies down. The giant water battery will be capable of generating 20 MW of electricity in hydroelectric dam style. Photographed are coal miners for whom the future actually looks pretty bright, thanks to the proposed plan to generate sufficient energy for nearly half a million homes.