Call to act on use of old mines and Glasgow subway to heat homes

A collaboration involving the respected think tank Common Weal and the Built Environment Asset Management (BEAM) Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University says that Scotland is in a prime position to exploit geothermal energy, which harnesses heat from the earth's core.

They say the heat source could be a focus to re-boot ambitions for a publicly-owned National Energy Company which was the centrepiece of Nicola Sturgeon’s main speech to the SNP conference in 2017.

After spending £500,000 on consultants and an outline business case the energy company plan was finally killed off in 2021.

READ MORE: Vulnerable Scots 'failed' as set to miss £29m of energy bill support

Social justice secretary Shona Robison said in September, last year that the project had been “very, very challenging to do under devolution”.

The study which is also supported by the SNP's small business, enterprise and innovation spokesman Douglas Chapman and former communities secretary Alex Neil says there needs to be greater co-operation across political parties and national divides to re-examine funding, planning and regulation to kickstart use of the renewable source.

Engineers at work preparing the geo-energy observatory  in Glasgow in 2019.

They say that pioneering work by researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University has demonstrated the potential for recovering heat from the Glasgow Subway – providing cheap heat whilst also helping keep travellers cool – and further potential exists where deep geothermal technology can be used to access ‘hot rocks’ deep underground.

But it is also felt that Scotland can also make use of a network of abandoned mines in the Central Belt.

These once employed thousands of miners to extract coal, ironstone and other minerals and are the basis and location of many towns and villages.

They provided the energy and raw materials that powered industry in the 19th and 20 th centuries, and the fuel to heat domestic properties.

Once coal mines are no longer used, they fill with water which is heated through naturally-occurring geothermal processes.

It is anticipated that the heated water can be piped into people’s homes as an alternative to fossil-fuel powered boilers, typically used for heating in the UK.

The study says that the mines could play an key role in future in energy supply by providing access to the thermal reservoirs and contribute to the energy mix of a low carbon Scottish economy based substantially on renewable energy.

It says this local supply of heat "could provide a short to medium-term solution to the current energy crisis and ever-increasing levels of fuel poverty, provide energy security and resilience for local coalfield communities still recovering from the pit closures of the last century and make great strides forward on our journey to net zero".

Dr Keith Baker, one of the new study's authors who is a research fellow in fuel poverty and energy policy at the Glasgow Caledonian University said “All that’s needed to get domestic geothermal sector off the ground is to get the technology in the ground. The technology is proven, and the economics add up, so we only need the political will. Otherwise, we will continue to drag our heels whilst continuing to burn fossil gas and leaving households at the mercy of the international energy markets."

Mr Baker, who is also a Common Weal director and convener of its energy working group added: "We have already seen where tinkering at the edges gets us, and whilst rebooting geothermal today won’t avert the potential for another energy bills crisis this winter, our governments need to demonstrate their commitment to ensuring that, one day soon, householders won’t have to worry about paying exorbitant energy costs and contributing to climate change”.

In 2004, a Scottish National Mine Water Potential Study assessed the largest 62 coal mines in Scotland and calculated that their waters alone could contribute up to 1,708 gigawatt hours (GWh) per annum of heat, if grants were provided. That equated to about 3% of their estimate of Scotland's total annual heat demand in that year.

But in 2020, a University of Strathclyde project, called the HotScot, projected that the potential geothermal energy in disused mines could meet demand for up to 8% of heat demand in Scotland.

Scotland was once the UK’s leader in exploiting geothermal thanks to projects at Shettleston in Glasgow and Lumphinnans in Fife, developed around the turn of the century.

But the new study says that Scotland is now at serious risk of "lagging far behind", with the UK’s largest scheme having opened in Gateshead in March 2023, which is already set to be overtaken by a new project at Seaham, County Durham, and others reaching the end of the pipeline.

They say Scotland is in a "prime position" to reclaim the crown through its wealth of available resources and specialist expertise, with Glasgow being home to the UK’s first state of the art geo-energy observatory which allows scientists to get a closer look at what is going on beneath the Earth's surface.

The Welsh Government last year said it was planning to set up its own publicly-owned renewable energy firm, which was to initially look at developing onshore wind farms on Welsh government-owned woodland estate, which covers 6% of Wales and is largely made up of hilly, windy sites.

And the study said that Scotland needs to follow their lead and get this "hugely popular policy back on the table as a matter of urgency" with a commitment to geothermal as the "ideal energy source" to kickstart it.

Scotland's ambitious climate change legislation sets a target date for net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045 and ministers have also signalled the end for fossil fuel gas boilers.

The nation has committed to cut 1990 levels of emissions by 75% by 2030. So far, around 50% has been reduced.

Craig Dalzell, head of policy and research with Common Weal added:"Scotland is a country of vast energy resources and one of the so-far untapped sources lies beneath our feet. 

"With Scottish heat energy being an entirely devolved matter, this is also a perfect example of how these resources can be developed by a Scottish Energy Company so that the gains can be kept in the hands of the Scottish public and the communities who provide the energy that can heat our homes.

"The alternative has already been presented by the UK Government. Unsustainable fossil fuel extraction despite the climate emergency and massive wealth extraction from Scotland lining the pockets of the multinational companies and foreign public energy companies who currently dominate the energy sector.”

Mr Chapman said he has long advocated for a push on geothermal potential in Scotland, in particular mine water heat given the challenges faced by former coalfield communities in his constituency in Dunfermline and West Fife which he said "still lag far behind on indicators of prosperity and opportunity".

"I believe the multiple crises we face on climate, the economy and social justice need to be dealt with head on in a pragmatic and comprehensive fashion.

"Getting geothermal off the ground through a re-booted National Energy Company means keeping local sources of energy for the benefit of local communities, truly tackling the scourge of fuel poverty in an energy rich country, kick starting job and reskilling opportunities, while addressing the climate crisis with a focus on the decarbonisation of heat.

"For me, it’s about Scots as stakeholders and guardians of our natural resources, for the good of our people and for the good of the environment which I think matches our values and aspirations as a nation.”