Durham County, UK receives grant for geothermal mine water study

Marina, Seaham at Durham, England/ UK (source: flickr/ alexmartin81, creative commons)

The Durham City Council has received a £110,000 grant for a feasibility study on using mine water in Horden to provide geothermal heat to greenhouses. The mine water is pumped at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius and is currently being stored in ponds and treated before getting pumped out to sea.

The Durham City Council worked with East Durham Trust, the Coal Authority, East Durham Business Services, and the community representatives from Horden in securing the funding.

There are some fantastic opportunities to explore the possibility of using low carbon to heat businesses or to grow food in the area.” said Mark Wilkes, cabinet member for climate change. Mine water from disused mines across the county are constantly being pumped out to prevent their levels from rising and contaminating the drinking water table.

“It’s incredible to think that, in the long run, we can use heat from mine water to help heat our community projects.” said Graham Easterlow, chief executive officer of the East Durham Trust.

Similar efforts to harness the geothermal heat from mine water are being undertaken in South Tyneside and Sunderland.

Source: BBC