Disused coal mines beneath South Gloucestershire could hold the potential to heat tens of thousands of homes, experts say. South Gloucestershire Council is investigating "affordable, non-polluting alternatives to energy sources such as gas and oil" and suspects there could be an option underground.
The authority says under Mangotsfield, Westerleigh and Kingswood alone there are 42 coal seams and more than a thousand mine entrances. Most of these were worked in the 19th century but a few remained in use up until the 1920s.
It is now considering the use of former mine workings in the district as a source of renewable heating and cooling for new and existing buildings. A council spokesperson said: "An initial study of records of local disused and abandoned coal mines was carried out by the Coal Authority in July, which identified a number of areas of interest.
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"The council is now looking to secure funding to undertake a further ‘Phase 2’ study of areas with the greatest potential heat resource. The aim is to better understand the size of the energy resource and investigate how it could be best utilised."
According to the council, the old mines are filled with floodwater which is naturally heated by underground geological activity. Using heat pumps, the water temperature can be raised to the level required for space heating and domestic hot water.
This could then be used to supply single buildings such as schools, hospitals and offices, or a heat network serving multiple buildings or a district, the spokesperson said. Although more research needs to be carried out, its current estimate is that 20,000 to 26,000 homes and businesses are located in the vicinity of former mine workings with a potential heat resource.
Mine water could also possibly be used to provide cooling during summer months as well as heating in colder months, the council says. Council leader Toby Savage, who also holds cabinet responsibility for climate change, said: "As we move away from oil and gas to cleaner and more affordable alternatives, I am excited about the potential to make use of renewable source of heat from the local area.
"That’s why we asked the Coal Authority to investigate whether disused mines could be part of the solution to finding alternatives to fossil fuel heating, and to coping with much higher summer temperatures. One hundred years after South Gloucestershire’s mines closed, they may yet be part of the solution to the climate and our move towards becoming carbon neutral."
Barry Wyatt, the council’s climate emergency manager, added: "We’ve known for a long time that we need to find alternatives to oil and gas that don’t pollute the atmosphere and increase global heating, but events this year have highlighted the financial cost of fossil fuels, and the huge impact of energy price increases on people and businesses.
"We know there are extensive mine workings across South Gloucestershire – what we need to understand now is just how big the energy resource is and how we could make best use of it."
A heat network is a network of insulated pipes, installed below ground, which are used distribute heat to multiple buildings such as homes and businesses. The heat can be produced form multiple heat sources, and one or more energy centres which may be situated at different locations on the heat network.
Bristol City Council already has district heat networks under construction using sources such as water in the floating harbour and it is also investigating the use of burning rubbish in an incinerator in Avonmouth. Under the City Leap deal signed off this month, at least £424 million will be spent over the next five years on projects such as insulating homes, installing heat pumps and district heat networks, and building new renewable energy generators.
Last year a leading environmental search authority warned that more than 170,000 homes in the Bristol area are at risk of ground movement due to disused mine shafts,
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