The Shields Gazette
Summary
The ‘Hebburn Minewater District Network’ will see geothermal energy drawn from flooded mines in the former Hebburn Colliery, and used to heat council-owned buildings in the town, including a residential tower block.
The project, which has preliminary approval for £3.5million funding from the European Regional Development Fund, is set to take a major step forward next week when council bosses select a designer for the scheme.
Coun Joan Atkinson, Lead Member for Area Management and Community Safety with responsibility for climate change, said: “This is a highly innovative scheme, which will be one of the first council minewater district heating systems in the UK.
“It is expected to deliver a reduction of 319 tonnes of carbon emissions a year, which will make it a key component in our drive to make the council carbon neutral by 2030.
“Cooled water will be returned to the mine workings and locally-generated electricity using solar panels and a combined heat and power unit will be used to help power it.
“It will also help us meet our obligations to upgrade the energy performance of fuel-poor homes as it will be used to heat one of the town’s residential high-rise blocks.”
Hebburn was extensively mined until mine abandonment in 1932.
The new district heating scheme aims to use the town’s mining legacy to create a sustainable heat source.
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