Extracting Reparative Power: redistributing power in post-mining transition

Abstract

This thesis explores landscape as a medium for ecological reparation in the energy transition by pairing renewable energy infrastructure with regenerative agriculture.

The project's goal is to visualize the reorganization of energy infrastructure through Just Transition, with an emphasis on agroecology, the welfare of vulnerable communities, and post-mining intervention. It is an inquiry into the efficacy of landscape architects in the contemporary challenges of the energy transition. First, the project explores how Thailand’s fossil fuel ‘empire’ is depleting, triggering geopolitical issues, and contributing to climate change. Second, it models Thailand’s fundamental infrastructure shift to renewable energy, exploring the potential placements, connections, and storage capabilities. Third, it deploys bottom-up, decentralization, and permaculture strategies to redistribute electrical and socioeconomic power. Finally, it imagines how Mae Moh Lignite Mine in Lampang, Thailand, could terraform into Pump Storage Hydropwer (PSH) through lignite extraction and serve as the region’s battery, critical to the intermittent renewable system.