Wales' first commercial mine water heat scheme goes live
The Ammanford site will provide low-carbon heat to a nearby industrial site.
The scheme harnesses untapped heat from a mine water treatment site.
Wales, with its industrial heritage and coal mining past, has recognised the potential of mine water heat through its Heat Strategy for Wales.
As part of this commitment, the Mining Remediation Authority identified an opportunity for low-carbon heat recovery at its Lindsay treatment scheme near Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, as part of work to map areas of Wales most suited for mine water heat schemes. This activity was commissioned by the Welsh Government.
The mine water is naturally warm due to geothermal energy from the Earth’s crust and heat retained from its time circulating through underground rock layers and former coal mines.
Working in collaboration with local business Thermal Earth Ltd, the renewable heat project secured funding through Innovate UK’s New Innovators in Net Zero Industry, South West Wales initiative.
Constructed in just two weeks, the project uses heat exchangers submerged in one of the settlement ponds at the Lindsay scheme to recover heat from mine water, which is then transferred to a nearby industrial unit to supply low-carbon heating and hot water, and is predicted to save 17.5t of CO2 per year.
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