Repurposing Abandoned Coal Mines for Geothermal Heating
We need to be getting on with this, and companies like ours have a big role to play in creating clean energy from the coal mines. In the northeast of England, there is an awful lot of industrial space, particularly over flooded mines. People are excited at the prospect of something coming from the history they helped create.
Coal is the largest single source of CO2 emissions in the world, and while internationally coal is still king, the picture is changing in the UK. Coal production has fallen by 94% in the last 10 years. The question arises: what happens when the coal mines that used to power our cities are no longer in use?
The Dawdon Colliery: A Case Study
We are in the industrial north, around the site of the Dawdon Colliery, which closed in 1991. It provided one of the main employment sources for the area. As the mines were closed, the pumps that kept them dry were switched off, and water resurfaced, going through the mine infrastructure. The water sitting in the coal mining infrastructure has been geothermally heated by the rocks around it. For over a decade, this water has been used as a main source of heating for offices and working areas within the Rye Water Treatment Scheme.
How Does It Work?
The disused mine floods with groundwater, and the natural heat of the rocks warms this water to around 20 degrees Celsius. The water is then pumped to the surface and passes through a heat exchanger, where the heat is extracted and transferred to a separate circuit of water that can warm homes and buildings.
Lanchester Wines: Implementing Geothermal Heating
One company that has put this into practice is Lanchester Wines. Their warehouse is heated using the flooded mine water underneath it, with a heat pump system. Supermarket wine, which needs to be kept at an ambient temperature, is stored in their warehouse. Heating their million-square-foot warehouse is one of the company’s biggest expenses.
Embracing Carbon Neutrality
Lanchester Wines started their journey to carbon neutrality in 2012. They began with wind turbines and quickly moved on to heating. Many warehouses in the northeast of England are built over flooded mine workings, making them ideal candidates for this technology. The company’s commitment to carbon neutrality has become part of its competitive strategy, attracting customers and integrating it into the core of their business.
Challenges and Solutions
Pioneering a new technology comes with challenges, such as dealing with ochre, a contaminant in the mine water that clogs up the system. However, heat pump technology is readily available, and its components can be purchased off-the-shelf. The challenge lies in putting them together in a different way.
International Efforts and Future Potential
The UK is not the only place pushing forward with this technology. The Netherlands is using its old mine water to heat and cool homes, offices, shops, and more. Repurposing abandoned coal mines for geothermal heating not only provides economic regeneration and green jobs in former mining areas, but it also creates clean energy.
The potential for the UK is incredible, with over 30,000 old mines in the country. Although not all of them can be used due to varying mining methods and geology, the heat resource beneath the ground is enormous. Flooded mines in many locations pose a problem that needs addressing, and this technology offers a solution.
High Hopes for Geothermal Heating from Mines
In the coming years, as companies develop and streamline this technology, it will transition from a pioneering project to a more standard heating system. The resource is abundant: a quarter of homes in the UK sit above old coal fields, and nine out of ten of the UK’s major city centers are in former mining areas. While many of these mines may not produce coal anymore, their potential as a source of clean, geothermal energy is just beginning to be tapped.
Coal consumption has declined in the past decade
From2009 to 2019, global coal consumption increased annually by only 1% to reach 7.6 billion tonnes, but its share of primary energy supply decreased from 28% to 26%, and its share of electricity generation dropped from 40% to 36.5%. While coal demand remained high, particularly in emerging markets such as China and India, the past decade witnessed a decline relative to previous decades. Key factors contributing to this include China’s shift towards a less energy-intensive economy, the shale revolution in the United States, and the increasing adoption of policies to fight climate change globally. Despite obstacles to a complete phase out of coal, such as the industrial use of coal in emerging markets and the vested interests of the mining industry and workers in coal-consumer countries, progress towards a cleaner energy transition can be facilitated by green investment, technological progress, and well-designed policies.
China’s economic changes affected the demand for coal
China’s economy has a significant impact on the world’s coal market, as it is the largest consumer of coal. In 2021, China’s coal consumption increased by 4.6% to reach an all-time high of 4,230 Mt due to strong economic growth in the first half of the year. However, coal and power shortages in the second half of the year led to a slowdown in power demand growth and output decline in coal-intensive industries. As a result, coal use in power generation increased by 8%, while consumption in other sectors fell by 0.8% for the full year. The IEA expects an increase in Chinese coal demand for 2022 as a whole, assuming economic recovery in the third and fourth quarters after the slowdown in the second quarter. However, it now expects coal consumption to remain stable around 4,230 Mt due to the renewed Covid-19 restrictions and weak economic growth.
Electricity demand will require increases in all generation options
Electricity demand is growing worldwide, and all generation options will need to increase to meet this demand. Renewable energy is expanding rapidly, but it will not be enough to fully satisfy the surge in electricity demand this year. As a result, fossil fuels will experience a sharp increase in use, which could lead to record-level carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector next year. Even with strong growth in renewables, they will only be able to meet around half of the projected increase in global electricity demand over the next two years. Coal is predicted to cover 45% of the additional demand in 2021, and nuclear power will be responsible for the rest. To achieve a decline in global emissions, coal-fired electricity generation will need to fall by more than 6% per year. With the right investment in renewables and energy efficiency, the world can create a secure and sustainable energy future.
Coal will continue to play a significant role in power generation
Coal has been a crucial source of electricity generation for over a century, and it will remain so in the near future. Despite the worldwide transition to low-carbon energy systems, coal still supplies over a third of global electricity. It is especially important for industries like iron and steel, where it’s challenging to eliminate its usage. Governments and the coal industry must develop and deploy less polluting and more efficient technologies, such as Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage, for coal to play an even cleaner role in the decades to come. To achieve a cleaner energy future, clean electricity generation and infrastructure should be rapidly scaled-up and system-wide improvements made in energy efficiency. These key strategies will reduce emissions from existing coal-fired plants and decrease coal use for power. Thus, coal will continue to play a significant role in power generation, even as efforts are made to transition to cleaner energy sources and combat climate change.
Conclusion: A Sustainable Future for Coal Mining Regions
Turning coal mines into clean energy sources through geothermal heating is an innovative solution that can benefit both the environment and local communities. By repurposing flooded mines and utilizing the heat trapped in the ground, we can reduce CO2 emissions, provide economic regeneration, and create green jobs in former mining areas.
The successful implementation of this technology by companies like Lanchester Wines serves as an inspiration for other businesses and regions to follow suit.
So if you can artificially re-create the conditions of the mines, beneath houses built in the country… whilst not providing significant heating, would at the very least stop elderly dying from the cold outright.
Is it really cost effective? We moved away from green nuclear when the alternatives are inconsistent and expensive.