Project to dig into abandoned mine heat
A pioneering project to use heat generated within abandoned mines has been highl i g hte d a s m ap s s h ow i n g other locations have been revealed.
The plans revealing the extent to which heat is stored in Britain’sabandonedcoalmines have been released to help develop low carbon heating for homes – with a scheme in Seaham already looking to tap into the resource.
A quarter of the UK’s population live above abandoned coal mines, which are warmed bynaturalgeothermalprocesses, the Coal Authority said.
Where the mines are flooded, the water can be used as a sustainable heat source for districtheatingsystemsthatcould replace conventional gas boilers for heating and hot water in homes and other buildings.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) and Coal Authority released an interactive map showing where the mines are and the extent to which temperatures increase with depth and will be available to developers, planners and researchers to identify opportunities.
The Government has set out plans for about one in five buildings to use a largely low carbon district heat network by 2050, and disused mines could be a source of heat for such projects.
A garden village planned near Seaham is being developed next to Dawdon mine water treatment scheme, with its heat to be used for the first large scale mine energy district heating scheme in the UK, the Coal Authority said.
Earlier this year, Gateshead Council secured a £5.9million grant to double its district heating network, including installing technology to extract heat from water in underground mine workings.
The Coal Authority’s head of innovation, Jeremy Crooks, said: “When miners were working in hot, dusty conditions, they would not have known that their efforts and the heat they worked in, would one day create a sustainable source of energy for hundreds of years to come.
“We are reviewing over 30 potential heat network opportunities using geothermal mine energy. Seaham Garden Village and Gateshead are the first two schemes to secure funding from the Government’s £320m Heat Network Investment Programme.
“It’s ironic that mining coal, a fossil fuel, would provide access to a low carbon, clean air, energy source that will last far longer than the 200 years of intensive mining that created this opportunity.”