Kenneth Stephen (Slashdot reader #1,950) writes:
Because the world rolls again on utilizing coal to extract power, it leaves behind empty coal mines. The BBC stories that the UK is actively utilizing these coal mines as a supply of geothermal power.
The BBC visits a wine warehouse within the northeast England city Gateshead, the place outdated coal mines “might nonetheless have a task to play in heating houses — however this time, with out burning fossil fuels.”
A brand new district heating system in Gateshead is poised to start warming houses and buildings within the space at a price 5% beneath market charge, utilizing the clear warmth from its mines 150m (490ft) beneath the bottom.
The water within the mines is of course heated within the surrounding rocks to twenty levels C (68 levels Fahrenheit), in response to the video report — so a warmth exchanger on the floor simply repurposes the extracted warmth for power customers. It is a method that is additionally being adopted within the Netherlands. However it’s particularly relevant within the U.Ok., the place 1 / 4 of houses are above outdated coal fields (as are 9 of its 10 main city facilities).
The report factors out that coal is the world’s largest supply of CO2 emissions, however now coal manufacturing within the UK has fallen by 94% within the final 10 years. “So what occurs when the coal mines that used to energy our cities are now not used?”
