Abandoned coal mine geothermal for future wide scale heat networks

18th December 2015 marked the end of the deep coal mining in the UK, with the last shift at the Kellingley Colliery. Centuries of deep mining across the UK, from Scotland, Durham, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and South Wales have left vast networks of flooded underground workings. With an agenda of low carbon supplies being actively investigated across the UK, one option in the renewable energy mix is the use of low enthalpy heat, using open loop ground source technology to recover heat from abandoned flooded coal mines to form wide scale heat networks. Here, Thomas details the potential use of abandoned mine waters as clean source of energy for heating.