Assessment of flooded mine shafts for thermal energy storage

Abstract

Space heating, cooling and hot water make up approximately half of global energy consumption in buildings. To ensure a responsible and sustainable energy transition, existing low-carbon thermal energy resource opportunities should be utilized for both supply and balancing of heating and cooling systems. 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. This paper provides insights from desk and field studies appraising the potential for drilling into an abandoned and capped mine shaft that is being explored for thermal energy storage at the former Comrie Colliery, Fife, UK. We describe results of the initial site investigation, including data availability challenges, field work, miner testimonies, and future planned activities. This work feeds into development of a site characterization approach which will minimize exploration and operational risks for development of mine shaft energy storage systems.