The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has welcomed a revelation in Oldham Council’s recently published Housing Strategy that geothermal heat from Oldham’s former coal mines could be used to heat homes across the borough in the future.
In October 2014, Councillor Sykes first asked the then Council Leader if officers could investigate this possibility and five years on it appears they will finally do so.
Councillor Sykes said: “Oldham’s coal mines are bursting with untapped renewable energy potential. Instead of your day to day Council Chamber hot air, this could serve to heat resident’s homes forever and provide widespread benefit for all.”
Oldham’s cotton mills required machinery powered by coal mines. There are hundreds of tunnels bored deep beneath the borough’s surface which store latent and unused geothermal heat, which can be used to warm people’s homes without fear of running out of steam.
In October 2014, Councillor Sykes raised the possibility that Oldham Council harness this ‘free energy’ with the Leader of the Council, using case studies from Scotland and the Midlands. At that time, Stoke-On-Trent Council received government finance to invest in this previously unthought of resource.
The Liberal Democrats are convinced that geothermal heat can make a major contribution to making Britain carbon neutral by 2050. The party first adopted the policy as part of their 2015 Election Manifesto, and four years later the current Government has finally just mirrored this commitment.
Councillor Sykes added: “The Liberal Democrats have a clear vision for cleaner, greener towns and cities. I would be delighted if we could lead the way in using geothermal energy to power Oldham’s homes and help save our environment.”E
Councillor Sykes’ question to the Leader of the Council on 22 October 2014 is below:
Council 22nd October 2014 – Leader Question 3: Geothermal Heat
My final question concerns geothermal heat; that is heat sourced from below ground to heat homes.
Let us be clear from the outset – I am not referring to fracking.
The Times reported recently that a 350-million-year old volcano located deep beneath Stoke-on-Trent could help to heat more than a thousand homes.
On reading this article I naturally checked the facts as my first thought was that this must be a late-running April Fools’ Day joke.
But no; Stoke-on-Trent City Council has prepared a business case to drill a 2.5km borehole to an aquifer in which the water is heated naturally to at least 85C (185F). This heat would be transferred to the surface to heat homes and the Government has pledged £20million to fund it.
This got me thinking.
It is unlikely that Oldham sits on an ancient volcano, but we do have a rich coal mining heritage (as those amongst you who have seen the 19th Century photographic panorama of the town centre in Gallery Oldham will know).
So I wondered do former coal mines give off residual ground-source heat which we could possibly utilise as part of the borough’s renewable energy strategy?
And guess what they DO….
The Herald in Scotland reported in November 2013 that:
“As much as a third of the heat needed to keep Scotland warm could be provided by tapping geothermal energy from old coal mines across the central belt, a major new study for the Scottish Government has concluded.
“Warm water piped up from abandoned mine shafts between Glasgow and Edinburgh and in Ayrshire and Fife could help heat many thousands of homes and other buildings for decades, researchers said. They are urging ministers to embark on an ambitious attempt to make geothermal energy a major new source of clean, renewable power within a few years”.
As Oldham is far from unique in historically sourcing power from coal, would the Leader be agreeable to looking to commission with the other Leaders of the Greater Manchester Authorities a study of the potential of this power source across our county?