A brief review of solar panel installations on former mine lands: technical challenges and uncertainties for tracking and foundation systems

Abstract

Reclaimed mine lands present a valuable opportunity for deploying photovoltaic (PV) systems, offering both environmental and economic benefits while addressing challenges of land reuse. This paper reviews the geotechnical conditions, foundation systems, and racking solutions relevant to PV installations on former mine lands, with a particular focus on the variable terrain and soil profiles found in Appalachian coalfields. The review identifies earth screws, ballasted foundations, and concrete piers as the most viable foundation options in these contexts due to their adaptability to diverse soil types, settlement risks, and construction constraints. For racking, fixed-tilt systems are favored for large-scale projects because of their structural simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and reduced risk of mechanical failure. Tracking systems, while offering higher energy yields, require careful cost-benefit analysis, particularly in variable weather conditions or remote areas. Reusing mine lands for PV deployment also presents meaningful climate benefits: typical installations can offset approximately 1,200–1,500 metric tons of CO₂ annually per megawatt of capacity, depending on local grid emissions and irradiance levels. The study emphasizes that selecting optimal foundation and racking systems must account for local geotechnical and environmental factors. It also calls for continued proof-of-concept testing and suggests that future advances may be driven by data-driven design methods such as machine learning to support more standardized and site-responsive PV infrastructure on legacy mine lands. This review also proposes a conceptual decision-making framework to guide practitioners in preliminary site assessments.