Geothermal Power: Mines

(asked on 29th June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had discussions with representatives of the Coal Authority on the (a) feasibility and (b) potential merits of extracting geothermal energy from mine water in abandoned mines.


Answered by
Anne-Marie Trevelyan Portrait
Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 6th July 2021

I can confirm that we are in close contact with the Coal Authority and that we see working with them to develop energy from mine water as essential to decarbonising the UK’s heating systems.

Heating and hot water make up around 40% of the UK’s energy consumption and nearly a third of the UK greenhouse gas emissions. Around 25% of UK homes are situated in the former coalfields and since the water in the now flooded mines is geothermally heated Around 25% of UK homes are situated in the former coalfields, the Coal Authority estimates there is sufficient energy in the geothermal water found in former coal mines to heat all of the homes on the coalfields.

Depending on the depth from which the water is extracted, the temperature varies from 21 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius. Where mine water reaches the surface, the heat can be extracted through a heat pump and transmitted through heat networks to both industrial and domestic customers. Using naturally warmed water, rather than already chilled water, for these systems reduces the energy requirement involved in these systems.

The Seaham Gardens heat network in County Durham is a great example of the merits of this. Working with the Coal Authority and Durham County Council we have recently awarded £3.8m for commercialisation and construction of a mine-water heat network scheme through our Heat Network Investment Project. When finished the scheme will use 6MW of heat to supply 1,500 homes.

Reticulating Splines