A project aimed at harnessing geothermal energy from disused, flooded coal mines in the northeast of England took another step forward after it was given planning permission for an initial testing phase.
In an announcement, South Tyneside Council said the development would “draw geothermal energy from abandoned flooded mines in the former Hebburn Colliery.” The Hebburn Colliery opened in the late 18th century and shut down in 1932.
The idea is that the project will heat buildings owned by the council, which is working on the project in collaboration with Durham University and the U.K.’s Coal Authority.
The U.K.’s abandoned mines could become a useful source of geothermal energy — which the U.S. Department of Energy describes as a “vital, clean energy resource” — in the years ahead.
As the Coal Authority observes, “when underground mines are abandoned, the pumps that kept them dry are often switched off and the mines fill with water.”
Geological processes heat the water, it adds, and the temperature keeps stable throughout the year.
In Hebburn, two wells are to be sunken to take water from the mines, with tests undertaken to make sure the project is viable.
A water source heat pump will eventually be used to “extract the heat from the minewater before it is compressed to a much higher temperature.” Drilling works and well construction are slated to be finished by the fall.
“Work will start on the testing phase of this project without delay,” Tracey Dixon, who is the leader of South Tyneside Council, said in a statement.
Dixon said that the project, which will benefit from more than £3.9 million ($5.48 million) in funding via the European Regional Development Fund, was “expected to deliver a reduction of 319 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.”
The U.K. has a long association with coal mining. However, the industry’s decline has hit many communities hard and is an emotive subject.
In recent times, plans for a new coal mine in Cumbria, in the northwest of England, have created a great deal of debate, not least due to the U.K. is set to host the COP26 climate change summit later this year.
Renewable and clean energy is in line with the UK’s policy on promoting green energy and as the head of the Commonwealth, this type of initiatives would become a trendsetter for the block, substantially contributing to reduction of carbon footprint.
