Geothermal Power

(asked on 26th February 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using geothermal mine water to contribute to the UK’s energy supply; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
 Portrait
Claire Perry
This question was answered on 5th March 2018

The Clean Growth Strategy has a clear focus on the challenges and opportunities involved in decarbonising heat in buildings and industry. We need to reduce the emissions created by heating our homes and businesses as these contribute almost a third of UK emissions.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is working in partnership with The Coal Authority to better understand the geothermal mine water resource available across the UK. The Coal Authority has responsibility for managing the mining legacy and has recently assessed there to be over two million gigawatt hours of low carbon heat stored in mine workings across the UK.

There are a number of ways to utilise this resource: using the heat for heat networks, for agriculture and for energy storage. An example of where this is actively being considered is in Wales, with Bridgend County Borough Council and The Coal Authority working together to explore using this mine heat for a heat network to provide local homes and businesses with low carbon, affordable heating. This can help reduce carbon emissions and contribute to the UK’s energy supply.

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