Mine water as a renewable energy source

In 2008, the old mining city of Heerlen started operating a geothermal station using heat from the water used to inundate the mine shafts after the site closed.

The station is divided into two sections. 825m deep mineshafts provide access to underground mine water at a temperature of 35°C.

The water is used for heating purposes and is then conveyed at 17°C to other mineshafts, where it is stored before being used as a coolant.

Over 400 newly-built houses, 55,000 m² of new tertiary buildings and 84,000 m² of existing office space have been equipped with heating and cooling systems using this mine water energy. The CO2 emission savings generated by this concept are estimated at 55%.

See the Science Direct article

Article by: René Verhoeven, Eric Willems , Virginie Harcouët-Menou, Eva De Boever, Louis Hiddes, Peter Op ’t Veld, Elianne Demollin

Mine Water Heerlen, PO Box 1, 6400AA Heerlen, The Netherlands
Cauberg-Huygen Consulting Engineers, PO Box 480, 6200AL Maastricht,
The Netherlands
VITO, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium