Event type:
Evening meeting, Specialist Group
Organised by:
Geological Society Events, Geological Society Discussion Group
Venue:
University Women's Club, 2 Audley Square, London
Event status:
EVENT CLOSED
Time and Location
6.30pm GMT at University Women's Club, 2 Audley Square, London W1K 1DB
Event details
In May 2021 the Government published a White Paper: ‘The case for Mine Energy – unlocking deployment at scale in the UK’, which had been developed in conjunction with the North East Enterprise Partnership (www.northeastlep.co.uk). The background to this White Paper were three key priorities: the development of new and innovative sources of employment and economic growth, rapid decarbonisation of our society, and levelling up - reducing the inequalities between different parts of the UK.
Mine energy, the use of the geothermally heated water in abandoned coal mines, is not a new technology, but it is one with the potential to deliver thousands of jobs. One quarter of the UK’s homes and businesses are sited on former coalfields. The Coal Authority estimates that there is an estimated 2.2 GWh of heat available – enough to heat all of these homes and businesses, and drive economic growth in some of the most disadvantaged communities
in our country. Indeed, this report demonstrates that if we only implement the 42 projects currently on the Coal Authority’s books, we will deliver almost 4,500 direct jobs and a further 9-11,000 in the supply chain, at the same time saving 90,000 tonnes of carbon.
The report also identifies a number of issues which need to be addressed to take full advantage of this opportunity; with investment, intelligence, supply chain development, skills and technical support all needing attention. It indicates though that none of these issues
are insurmountable and BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) will therefore work with the Coal Authority, and its partners in the Mine Energy Task Force, to further explore the options for exploiting this zero-carbon energy source.
Prof. van-Hunen will open the Discussion by examining the benefits and barriers to Mines Water as a source of geothermal energy.
Speaker
Dr Jeroen Van-Hunen from Durham Energy Institute
Dr Jeroen van Hunen is a professor in computational geoscience at the University of Durham. He has 25 years of research experience in modelling Earth systems and dynamics, and leads the Geodynamics Research Group. His research involves numerical fluid flow modelling on a range of scales, from Earth’s mantle convection and plate tectonics down to groundwater flow and geothermal systems. His interest in minewater heating developed several years ago, initially as a new modelling challenge, but he gradually became interested in the wider engineering and socio-economic aspects of this too. He recently obtained £1.6M funding from UKRI funding to for the interdisciplinary research project ‘Geothermal Energy from Mines and Solar-Geothermal heat’ (GEMS) that will explore the various challenges involved in using water from flooded and abandoned mines as a sustainable heat source to warm our homes.
Registration
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