Research by Durham Energy Institute (DEI) Director Prof Jon Gluyas and DEI Fellow Dr Charlotte Adams was highlighted a number of times in a Parliamentary debate on 19 July in Westminster Hall on the potential for geothermal energy in UK.
Helen Goodman, MP for Bishop Auckland, led a debate in Parliament on the potential of geothermal energy in the UK. She called on the Government to take advantage of the huge potential of UK geothermal energy resources. The debate was seen as a great success with support from other MPs across the country.
Helen explained: “The oil and gas industry, which employs more than 300,000 people in the UK, is already struggling because of low oil prices. Developing our geothermal resources will give us enough energy to heat a quarter of UK homes for an entire century, and could create thousands of jobs.
“The environmental benefits are extremely significant too. If the 7 million homes in coalfield areas switched their gas boilers for a heat pump, 11 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions could be avoided every year.
“Despite this, the Government have not been prioritising geothermal energy; it is almost completely ignored in their Clean Growth Strategy. I really believe that the Government needs to start exploiting this alternative, clean energy source more effectively to give British citizens and the environment a fairer deal.”
Dr Charlotte Adam’s said: “I am delighted that my research on geothermal energy has contributed to a debate in Westminster. I firmly believe that geothermal has an important role in the UK’s future energy mix as a low carbon energy source that could be used to offset consumption of natural gas. Through the Durham Energy Institute at Durham University, we have been working with Helen Goodman on the potential of using the abandoned mines in her constituency as a source of heating for new residential developments. This research shows that there is resource in place for more than 100 homes and we are working to highlight this potential amongst developers and planners. This research is transferrable to other mining regions and it is estimated that around one third of UK homes are located in former mining areas and could access this resource.
Finding alternative, low carbon heat sources is important because heat accounts for around half of the UK’s energy demand and most of this is provided by natural gas. This has implications for our future energy security. BritGeothermal is a national research group that has been working to promote the UK’s geothermal resource which we estimate has the potential to meet the UK’s heat demand for many decades.”
Charlotte and Jon are continuing to work with Helen Goodman to identify the best ways forward to reduce policy barriers and facilitate the implementation of new Geothermal projects in the UK.
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