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Abandoned coal mines could soon heat homes in Scotland

Abandoned coal mines could soon heat homes in Scotland Abandoned coal mine near Lochore Meadows, Scotland (source: flickr/ Ross Murray, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 9 May 2016

Defunct coal mines in Scotland could soon be the source of a cheap and clean source of heating for local communities in Scotland, utilising geothermal heat.

It is a common phenomena that down in the depths of coal mines it is hot, very hot. Old pictures show sweat-drenched mines working the mines often without shirts. So discussions on how one could utilise that heat underneath for heating purposes is nothing new. Studies have been undertaken in Canada, in Germany and also in Scotland.

Today, more than half of all energy demand in Scotland is represented by heating and also generates about half of Scotland’s total carbon emissions, so a recent article in The Scotsman.

The overall cost for heating for the public is around GBP 2.6 billion or around $3.8 billion. With rising energy costs, about 845,000 households “suffer from fuel poverty.”

Now in a joint effort by local city councillors and scientists, it is looked at how a new heating project could derive heat from the depths of abandoned coal mine to use for district heating of around 700 households. This would not only bring heat to one of Scotland’s most disadvantaged areas, but also provide for a much cheaper and cleaner source of energy.

Today, there are already two systems in place that utilise mine water for heating, Shettleston in east Glasgow and Lumphinnans in Fife. Both of these projects are small in scale and each serve less than 20 households and have been operating since around the year 2000.

 

For the full article see link below.

Source: The Scotsman