Galleries to Calories (G2C), comprising industry, academic and national research partners from Scotland, USA and Ireland, demonstrates for the first time the use of legacy mine workings as recycled heat storage and transport networks to provide managed sustainable regional recharge of low enthalpy (< 40°C) geothermal heat. G2C undertakes in-depth geological, hydrogeological and geochemical site characterisation, an assessment of the sustainable thermal resource management for different development scenarios, development of socially based economic models, investigation into the legal aspects of subsurface heat ownership models and technical consideration of its wider application to European and US coal and mineral mines.
Within this project, running from 2022 - 2025, Scene is providing expertise in environmental assessment and social impact to understand the above-ground implications of minewater heat storage and transmission. This includes understanding environmental impact assessment (EIA) requirements, undertaking wide-ranging social return on investment (SROI) impact, and inputting into the business and commercial case for development of minewater opportunities in the UK
See the G2C website for more information:
https://www.ed.ac.uk/geosciences/research/galleries-to-calories