British Billionaire Pushing Renewable Energy Hopes on Abandoned Mine Pits

British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta is leading the group set to buy Australian steelmaker and mining group Arrium and made a radical suggestion of generating power using the empty mines.

Mr. Gupta said the empty mine pits could be flooded with water and could then be used to generate electricity. He also expressed an interest in making investments in renewable energy in Australia through the group’s energy division.

GFG Alliance made headlines on Wednesday when Korda Menthe Restructuring announced it had signed a binding agreement with GFG to buy Arrium.

South Australian Treasurer and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis welcomed Mr. Gupta’s comments on the planned pumped hydro. He also said that utilising co-generation and the existing mining assets for pumped hydro generation makes a lot of sense.

Click here to read the full story in the Sydney Morning Herald