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Flooded and forgotten: How Europe's disused coal mines are successfully being used to heat our homes | Euronews (www.euronews.com)

submitted 10 months ago by YungOnions to c/[email protected]

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Abandoned coal mines are providing a surprisingly potent source of zero-carbon energy in Europe.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

That's a bit of a weird article.
The headline states that

How Europe's disused coal mines are successfully being used

But throughout the text the only site they mention is Gateshead "the UK’s first large-scale network".
There is an entire paragraph titled

Which UK towns are tapping into the energy source?

But all they seem to mention are planned future projects.

The Glasgow Observatory and another project in Cheshire are part of a £31 million (€37 million) investment by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The funds being devoted to this research show the increasing interest the government is taking in this striking form of geothermal energy.

Edit: In Germany's Ruhr reagion they pump out old coal mines to avoid flooding because they fear it would further destabilize the ground the region's cities are built on.

[–] YungOnions 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

So the Gateshead scheme appears to be up-and-running since March this year: https://www2.groundstability.com/major-grant-to-connect-gateshead-homes-to-coal-authority-mine-water-energy-scheme/

There's a similar scheme already in place in the Netherlands: https://www.construction21.org/articles/h/from-flooded-mines-to-circular-district-heating.html

And also In Spain: https://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/turning-coal-mines-in-the-region-of-asturias-in-spain-to-sources-of-geothermal-heating-and-cooling/amp/

So I agree the article is a bit light on details, but it's definitely happening to one degree or another.