£1.6 million for plan to drill for heat from mines

A PROJECT to use South Gloucestershire's old coal mines to provide renewable energy has been earmarked £1.6 million in funding to start drilling.

The Voice reported earlier this year that South Gloucestershire Council was investigating whether the water in flooded abandoned mine workings, which is naturally heated by geothermal energy, could be used to heat and cool buildings in the area.

Several abandoned works in the district have been identified as "areas of interest" by the government's Coal Authority.

The council believes up to 26,000 homes and businesses are near to former mine workings: in the Frome Valley area, Coalpit Heath takes its name from its time as a mining area.

But the council says the initial areas to be investigated are further south.

The process would involve using pumps to raise the temperature of the water to the level required for heating and hot water, and use it above ground as a climate-friendly alternative to gas boilers, in homes and larger buildings.

So far only £10,000 has been spent on the Coal Authority's initial examination of potential "areas of interest" for the project.

But now the plan has been allocated £1.65m from the West of England Green Recovery Fund, after the region's political leaders agreed to increase the fund by £10m to £60m at a meeting in March.

Also confirmed was money to create a Frome Valley River Reserve at Frampton End Farm, which was allocated more than £1m in funding last year, retrofitting draughty homes with more efficient insulation, and expanding South Gloucestershire and Stroud College to help train up future green jobs.

Mobile footcare

The cash allocated to the project by the West of England Combined Authority would pay for further studies, including drilling investigative boreholes in "up to six high potential areas", to see how dated records of mines match up with the reality underground.

A report to WECA said that if the concept could be turned into a financially viable source of renewable heat, it could then attract commercial investment to build a system that could serve anything from 20 to 60,000 homes.

Further funding for the project will be sought from other sources.

West of England Metro Mayor Dan Norris said it was “ironic” that coal mines could be one solution to climate change.

South Gloucestershire Council leader Toby Savage said: "We have extensive mining heritage in parts of the district, with over 40 coal seams and over 1,000 different mine entrances.

"The next stage of the project is to identify the scale of the potential heat and cooling demand within the broad areas of search."