Mine water heating and cooling: a 21st century resource for decarbonisation
With interest in geothermal heat recovery and storage increasing, the British Geological Survey alongside BEIS and IEA Geothermal held a mine water heating and cooling symposium to connect industry professionals from around the world.
20/04/2021 By BGS Press
The drive to decarbonise heating has resulted in investigations of abandoned flooded coalmines across the world as they offer potential for heat recovery, cooling and storage of heat.
On 10 and 11 March 2021 BGS, IEA Geothermal and BEIS organised a conference to share current research and lessons learned from both scientific projects and real life projects concerning mine water energy. IEA Geothermal were very pleased to be involved in assisting with this informative symposium, which quickly developed as an opportunity for the international community interested in mine water geothermal to connect. This free-to-attend conference had 500 registrants from 73 countries. Attendees used the Twitter hashtag #CleanEnergyFromTheCoalfields to join in the discussion, which is still in active use for those wanting to learn more and join our thriving global community.

500 people from 73 countries registered for the free event, with a mixture of academic, geological survey, environmental regulators, local authorities, government and consultants.
The conference
Day one
Brett Hagen (BEIS) launched day one of the conference by covering the policy and practice for low carbon heat networks in the UK.
David Banks (Holymoor Consultancy Ltd/University of Glasgow) discussed the risks, potential capital expenditure (CAPEX) uncertainties and made the call for integration of new (and existing) mine water treatment schemes with housing developments.
Gareth Farr (BGS) discussed recently released temperature maps of the British coalfields.
The session continued with discussion on practical issues including:
- opportunities in Newcastle and Gateshead (Jonathan Steven – Groundwater and Geothermal Services Ltd)
- thermo-mechanical modelling for heat/flow cycling in pillar and stall workings (Fiona Todd, University of Edinburgh)
- an overview of the Coal Authority’s approach to turning mine energy into a strategic asset for Britain (Bohdan Iwanskyj, The Coal Authority)
Day two
Steven Hayes (Hayes Tec Ltd) introduced day two with a talk on heat networks.
Florian Hahn (Fraunhofer IEG) talked about the Dennenbaum coal mine in Germany.
Mike Jenkins (Bridgend Council) gave a presentation on early stage feasibility and public engagement in south Wales.
Florian Hahn (Fraunhofer IEG) returned for part 2 of his excellent presentation covering testing at a demonstration site, including interesting heat injection tests.
Charlotte Adams (The Coal Authority) talked about smart systems for mine energy schemes.
Alison Monaghan (BGS) concluded the event with a presentation on the UK Geoenergy Observatory in Glasgow.
There is obvious scope to link up geo-observatories across Europe to share lessons learned and to facilitate collaboration.
Q&A session
Hosting the conference via Zoom democratised the online Q&A session, and we fielded over 130 questions. Regulation, CAPEX and customer acceptance were frequently mentioned, as was the desire to form a specialist interest group to continue creating opportunities for co-collaboration between policymakers, researchers, regulators and developers across the world.
Attendees were able to vote anonymously via three polls suggesting that mine water heating and cooling is a feasible solution for decarbonising heat (62 per cent), CAPEX is considered the biggest challenge for mine water heating schemes (27 per cent) and demonstration schemes complemented with scientific observatories are the best way to ‘de-risk’ the technology (86 per cent).

Results from three anonymous polls.

Results from three anonymous polls.

Results from three anonymous polls.
Due to the global interest in low carbon mine energy schemes, demand for this kind of conference, and a desire to continue talking and connecting with one another, we hope to plan a secondary event in the near future. If you would like to be involved then please email Gareth Farr.
Further reading
- Conference agenda
- Recordings of the presentations
- UK Geoenergy Observatory in Glasgow
- The Coal Authority
- Heat Store Project
- D2Grids Project
About the authors
- Gareth Farr is a hydrogeologist who leads the BGS mine energy topic
- Brian Carey is the IEA Geothermal executive secretary and is based in New Zealand
- Brett Hagen is the Heat Networks Specialist (HNDU) at BEIS
Relative topics
Latest blogs

A tale of two groundwaters
21/03/2023
Why the United Nations 2023 Water Conference needs to know more about groundwater.

Below the bonnie banks: mapping Loch Lomond’s underwater landslides
07/03/2023
Using high-resolution, multibeam bathymetry and shallow seismic imaging, BGS’s marine geoscience and landslides teams are mapping historic landslides under the waters of Loch Lomond.

When did the cows come home?
23/02/2023
PhD student David Osborne is exploring Bronze Age animal husbandry using isotopes and X-rays.
Property subsidence assessment: helping to mitigate shrink–swell hazard risk
25/01/2023
The BGS Property Subsidence Assessment dataset provides insurers and homeowners with tools to better understand shrink–swell and the risk it poses to homes and businesses.

MYRIAD-EU: shifting the paradigm in disaster risk management
17/01/2023
How changing our approach to disaster risk reduction practices can create a more resilient future.

Five places in Yorkshire to assess key geological hazards
21/12/2022
A field trip to Yorkshire has helped our data products team improve their output.

IODP Expedition 386: hosting a sampling party in Japan
19/12/2022
BGS help lead the final phase of IODP Expedition 386 in Japan, coordinating science colleagues from around the globe to extract samples from sediment cores aboard DV Chikyu.

Mushroom spotting at BGS Keyworth
09/12/2022
Colleagues at BGS are mapping mushrooms as part of efforts to enhance biodiversity on the Keyworth site.

Building underneath the Colosseum: the importance of urban geology
21/11/2022
Tim Kearsey reports on his underground excursion around Rome.

Introducing the BGS Debris Flow Susceptibility Model for Great Britain
21/11/2022
Debris flows are a landslide hazard of particular concern to transport infrastructure managers and local authorities.

Spooky geology
31/10/2022
Explore thirteen of our favourite spooky geological hotspots around the UK.

Notes from an applied glacial geology field course in Norfolk
28/10/2022
Marine geoscientist Catriona MacDonald and urban geologist Raushan Arnhardt share their experiences from a recent trip to north Norfolk to learn more about glacial geology.