Thursday, July 7, 2016

United Kingdom: Geothermal District Heating from Old Mineworkings

Minewater Geothermal (Scene)


Scene, along with a team of specialists, has been working on behalf of the James Hutton Institute and North Lanarkshire Council, east of Glasgow in Scotland, on this innovative project. This demonstrator project has been investigating the mineworkings beneath the old Kingshill Colliery south of Allanton in North Lanarkshire.

This isn’t just geothermal - it’s a very special type of geothermal - from mine water, where energy is associated with collapsed and abandoned mineworkings. It’s about thinking of abandoned mines as a resource rather than a liability. It’s a bit of an oversimplification, but places that have the best mine resources often also suffer from environmental degradation and fuel poverty.

The full Feasibility report can be found on the Scottish Government website.