Webinar – Mine water geothermal in Scotland, 20 Sept 2023
Mine water sampling, Glasgow (source: Glasgow GeoEnergy Observatory)
Carlo Cariaga
21 Aug 2023
Registration is now open for a webinar Scotland’s unique mine-water geothermal economic opportunity on the 20th September 2023, 11AM-12PM CEST.
UPDATE: The recording of this webinar can be now be accessed via this link.
Registration is now open for a webinar on “Minewater Geothermal in Scotland” hosted by Scottish Enterprise. The relevant details and registration link are as follows:
Date: 20 September 2023
Time: 11 AM – 12 PM CEST
Registration link: Register here
Scotland is legally committed to reduce emissions by 75% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2045. Heat accounts for 51% of Scotland’s energy demand and is the single largest source of emissions in Scotland, at around 41%. Given the growth of population centers around former and existing mining communities in the UK, abandoned and flooded coal mines are becoming increasingly recognized as a potential resource for heat energy production and thermal storage. 7 million homes in the UK could be using minewater heat as an energy resource.
In Scotland there is potential availability of 600 km3 of disused mineworkings in the Midland Valley (theoretically meeting 8% of Scotland’s domestic heating requirement and up to 40% of Glasgow’s heat demand) could make Scotland a world leader in this sector. Minewater heat can be upgraded by heat pumps and delivered to homes and businesses through heat networks. If used for thermal energy storage, mines could become a strategic low-carbon vector, storing heat generated from surplus renewable electricity, eliminating wasteful ‘constraint payments’ and crucially, helping to deliver energy security and address the energy crisis.
Scotland has both the company capability (engineering), natural resource (significant coal mining infrastructure) and the academic strength and ambition to deliver on the minewater geothermal opportunity.
This webinar will provide an overview of Scotland’s unique mine-water geothermal economic opportunity and an introduction to the Mine Water Geothermal Resource Atlas for Scotland, the Geothermal Centre of Excellence and updates on the world leading geothermal testing facility in Glasgow and existing projects.
The following speakers are confirmed:
- Rachel McCaw, Low Carbon Transition Specialist at Scottish Enterprise;
- David Townsend at TownRock Energy;
- Katherine Deeming a PhD Student at University of Strathclyde; and
- Craig Nicol at the Net Zero Technology Centre.
Source: Email correspondence
