They are very environmental friendly. Accounting for the carbon cost from production, installation, and lifetime operation, they produce over 20 times less CO2 per kWh of energy generated than the most efficient coal plants. It is now at the stage where it is more environmental friendly to build new solar panels from scratch than it is to continue to run existing coal plants. The efficiency of solar panels and other renewable sources is continuing to increase over recent years, so these numbers are only going to become more marked over the coming years.
I see, has there been a research done to evaluate the ecological impacts with the displacement of wildlife and the destruction of flora and fauna? Some solar farms uses the heat from the sun instead of silicon solar panels as a more efficient way to generate electricity and they do cause quite some ecological impact, dams and wind turbines has resulted in some wildlife species being affected as well. I think that would be a primary concern together with the carbon emissions.
I would think mining is ideal for places which already runs on renewable energy and has completely shifted from fossil fuels. If a portion of the energy production is still from fossil fuels, then it would make sense if you still consider the opportunity cost incurred in terms of the carbon emissions from coals and natural gas. AFAIK, most countries hasn't reached that stage yet and the power loss from long distance power transmission isn't that bad.
I'll also add a quote from CoinShares, from a different report to the one I linked above:
Thanks, I didn't think you were talking about funding in terms of it's R&D.