Event overview
Established in 1994, the Coal Authority has been working to make a better future for people and the environment in mining areas for more than 25 years and retains responsibility for coal mines. The UK’s intensive deep coal mining industry spanned a period of more than 300 years, before finally ending in 2015. This has resulted in extensive abandoned mine workings, which can be found under a quarter of UK homes and businesses.
The Coal Authority is now viewing this abandoned mine infrastructure - which was formerly seen as a liability - as an asset of strategic national importance.
This webinar will explore the many initiatives being driven by the Coal Authority to repurpose the UK’s abandoned mine infrastructure, and details how organisations can be involved in the exciting opportunities these projects present.
The webinar, presented by Jeremy Crooks, Head of Innovation at the Coal Authority, will cover:
- Large scale abstraction of geothermal energy from mine water and the benefits to land development
- Large scale storage of energy inter-seasonally in mine workings, and how this could be a major contributor to meeting UK sustainability targets
- The use of ferric oxyhydroxide in mine water - previously seen as a £1m per annum waste issue, and now a solution to challenging land remediation issues whilst reducing ferric imports from overseas
- Potential to develop a large-scale horticulture industry around mine energy, offsetting £50billion per annum in food imports
- Water in mines as a means to tackle the UK’s future water scarcity issues – it is predicted that the UK will have an insufficient water supply by 2034
- Repurposing abandoned mine shafts to generate electricity and as thermal stores
- How the repurposing of mines can build UK resilience, create employment, and contribute to improving the wellbeing of the 25% of UK population that lives and works on the coalfields
Speaker: Jeremy Crooks
Jeremy joined the Coal Authority in November 2013, and established a team to work on mine energy and other projects using abandoned mines in 2015.
Since then, him and his team have worked tirelessly on innovative and forward thinking ways to repurpose mines in the UK, with a focus on low carbon energy, renewables, and protecting the public and the environment – turning historic mines from liabilities, into assets of strategic importance to the UK.
“It fills me with great pleasure to be working on exciting projects that will repurpose abandoned coal mines as a source of low carbon energy, reduce imports of food and ferric minerals and assist in cleaning up contamination left behind from our industrial past.
“This is a real opportunity for the UK to lead the world in post mining asset development, creating new technologies, developing new skills, generating employment, building UK resilience and delivering large scale climate change benefits. I am looking forward to finding new partners to join the Coal Authority on this exciting journey”. - Jeremy Crooks.