The same tunnels used to extract fossil fuels for centuries are now helping to heat British homes with clean energy from the Earth’s core. It’s called mine water heating and it has the potential to provide critical warmth to hundreds of thousands of homes in the country’s north.
At least one quarter of UK homes sit above abandoned coal mines. Residents in these towns and cities concurrently grapple with skyrocketing energy bills. Tapping mine water heat from beneath their feet could be a win-win for these communities.
As many of Britain’s coal mines became abandoned, the pumps that kept them dry were switched off and the mines filled up with water. While many of these mine shafts aren’t particularly deep, the water contained in them is significantly hotter (around 40°C) than at the surface.
Enteq Technologies plc (LON:NTQ) develops and supplies equipment for Measurement, Logging and Geo-steering while drilling of wells for the Geothermal, Oil and Gas markets.
