A two-year study at Nottingham Trent University has identified that water in redundant coalmines can be a renewable source of energy for the UK.
Researchers at the university worked in conjunction with Nottinghamshire renewable energy firm Alkane Energy to establish this unique method of harnessing green energy.
Water in mines is naturally lukewarm due to ground heat and it has been established that this water could be condensed to heat or cool buildings above the ground.
Warmth to thousands
Professor Amin Al-Habaibeh, who led the study, said: “In a way we may never have previously envisaged, coalmines could once again be used to provide warmth to thousands of homes across the UK.
“But the key difference between yesteryear and tomorrow is that we now have the ability to harness their energy potential in a completely sustainable way.”
For the study, Alkane Energy were given permission to explore disused coalmines over a 30 kilometre area with the potential to produce energy for around 45,000 households.
The technology takes the water from the mineshaft and pumps it to the surface where thermal energy is extracted and circulated at much higher temperatures in a central heating system.
Keith Parker, project director at Alkane Energy, explained that the company had traditionally used gas in disused mines to power its core electricity generation business.
He added: “The utilisation of heat from mine water gives rise to a further opportunity to make use of the mines to provide green, sustainable energy to homes and businesses in the UK.”
Funded by Innovate UK, the project’s findings were presented at the global Applied Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi in March.
It was discovered that the technology involved could be four times more efficient when running on mains electricity than a modern gas boiler with 90 per cent efficiency rating.
Professor Amin Al-Habaibeh, of the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, has also worked with his students and research team to develop a smaller scale prototype of the technology for educational purposes and use at the conference.
