As a high-energy-consuming industry scenario, electricity demand runs through multiple links of coal production, such as mining, transportation, and washing, and large coal mines can consume tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. With the rapid popularization of intelligent and modern equipment, the dependence of mines on electricity has further increased.

However, the continuous promotion of high-end equipment has led to a continuous decrease in the energy consumption per unit product in the mine; the development of new energy in the mining area is constantly advancing, and green electricity is expected to help the mine achieve self-sufficiency in power supply. In the future, with the replacement of green electricity more reliable, the continuous renewal of mining equipment, and the more intelligent mining system, coal production will be cleaner and more efficient, bringing better benefits to coal enterprises.

■Coal production consumes a lot of electricity

"In coal mines, the production involves multiple links that consume a large amount of electricity, mainly including underground hoisting and transportation, ventilation and drainage, mining equipment, and electrical power distribution system, etc. In addition, there is also a large consumption of electricity in the processes of ground transportation, washing, loading and unloading, etc." Associate Professor Wang Bing of the School of Energy and Mining at China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing) pointed out to the reporter of China Energy News that according to the different scales of the mine, the annual electricity consumption of a coal mine can reach several million or even hundreds of millions of kilowatt-hours.

Take the Zhongmei Shaanxi Dahai Zhe coal mine with an annual capacity of 20 million tons as an example, the mine consumes 82.16 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. And the per capita electricity consumption in China is about 1,000 kilowatt-hours, which means that the electricity consumption of this coal mine in one year is equivalent to the total electricity consumption of 82,000 people's lives.

According to the China Coal Industry Association, the comprehensive electricity consumption for raw coal production of the nation's large coal enterprises reached 23.7 kilowatt-hours/ton last year, up 3 percent year-on-year.

Last year, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Clean and Efficient Utilization of Coal", proposing to improve the energy-saving and carbon reduction standard system for coal mines, promote the application of high energy efficiency technologies and equipment, and comprehensively utilize resources such as waste heat and waste pressure. It is also necessary to deeply tap the energy-saving potential of the production system and reasonably reduce the energy consumption of coal mine production. By 2030, the intensity of production energy consumption will gradually decrease.

Wang Bing believes that energy-saving renovations in coal mines should focus on multiple dimensions, including the replacement of low-carbon power, the renewal of equipment with intelligent control systems, process and system optimization, and the strengthening of management mechanisms. "These measures can ensure the safe, efficient, and low-carbon operation of mines, and can also help control and reduce the overall energy consumption of mines," he said.

■Smart "efficiency" also "increased consumption"

Just as intelligent technologies such as autonomous driving are often equipped in electric vehicles with sufficient power. Similarly, in recent years, the modernization and intelligent construction of coal mines have been continuously accelerated, and more efficient and smarter equipment are increasingly being applied to the production site, but at the same time, these equipment also bring higher energy consumption demand.

"Along with the continuous improvement of the modernization and intelligence level of the mine, the use of automatic transportation, unmanned patrol inspection, and electrical equipment has increased the electricity consumption of the mine." However, Wang Bing also stated that in the medium and long term, the intelligentization of coal mines can reduce the electricity consumption per unit of coal production through more efficient operation, intelligent control, and optimized scheduling, thus achieving energy conservation and consumption reduction under the premise of ensuring production capacity and improving safety and efficiency.

Last year, while the comprehensive electricity consumption for raw coal production of the national large coal enterprises increased year-on-year, the comprehensive energy consumption for raw coal production decreased by 12.2% year-on-year, dropping to 7.9 kilograms of standard coal/ton.

Wang Bing pointed out that the comprehensive energy consumption decreased year-on-year, indicating that large coal enterprises have achieved significant improvements in the total energy consumption. At the same time, the proportion of electricity use increased, and the electricity consumption increased, which means that the coal production and transportation process has become more dependent on electric equipment and electric transportation systems with the improvement of electrification, automation, and intelligence levels, thus achieving the transformation of the energy consumption structure in the coal production and transportation links in the mine area. "Coal mine production is transitioning from the traditional high-fuel consumption, mechanical drive mode to the electrical, automated, and low-carbon drive mode."

■Green power substitution has great potential

In recent years, a number of coal enterprises have actively sought new business opportunities in the development of wind power, photovoltaic and other new industries. China Shenhua has established a number of new energy companies in recent years, and as of September 2025, the installed capacity of photovoltaic has reached 1.025 million kilowatts. In the first half of this year, Zhongmei Group, together with State Power Investment Corporation, China General Nuclear Power Group, China Energy Engineering Group and other new energy companies, has established more than a dozen new energy companies, accelerating the expansion of new energy business.

Land resources are an important advantage for coal enterprises to expand into new energy business. By the end of 2024, the area of coal mining subsidence in China is about 2 million hectares, and these idle lands provide ready-made sites for new energy projects. Through the direct consumption of new energy power generation by the mine's own power grid, an integrated "source-grid-load-storage" project can be formed, which is a feasible way for mines to achieve green power substitution and production emission reduction.

Recently, the National Energy Administration issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Integration and Development of Coal and New Energy", proposing that by the end of the "15th Five-Year Plan", significant achievements will be made in the integrated development of coal and new energy, the development model of the photovoltaic and wind power industry in coal mining areas will be basically mature, the rate of electric power substitution and the penetration rate of new energy will be greatly improved, a number of clean and low-carbon mining areas will be built, and the green development momentum of the coal industry will be further enhanced.

The power consumption in mines not only focuses on power and efficiency, but also on safety, stability and reliability, as mining development is usually located underground, where the environment is closed and ventilation and lighting are relatively insufficient. Once there is a power outage, it will not only affect the normal mining operation, but also pose a threat to the safety of miners. "For mine power supplies, special requirements such as safety, stability and reliability are equally important. Therefore, the design of mine power supply systems is often more stringent, and the cost and operation and maintenance requirements are also higher," said Wang Bing.

"The replacement of green electricity in mine production is gradually advancing, but there are still challenges in ensuring the stability of new energy as the main power source to support mine production. The current reliance on green electricity in mines is still low, and it mainly focuses on mine transportation, production and living, and mine heating," said Wang Bing. He pointed out that the further promotion and utilization of renewable energy in mines still need to continuously optimize the stability and continuity of power supply to meet the high-load requirements of mine production.

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