Why is geothermal energy still just a nice idea here?

A collection of climate stories mostly

View over the city of Aarhus, Denmark (source: flickr/ IMBiblio, creative commons)

Although I read and subscribe to a number of US journalists whose focus is climate change and a net zero future as quickly as possible, I’m not sure US public opinion is quite on the same page, not even the same book. 

The antics of Republican party politicians and their voters, probably many Democrats too, seems to summarise neatly how wedded many American citizens are to consumerism, business growth, gun ownership, god and maintaining good old-fashioned party values. There seems to be next to no room for anything as plain wrong as a carbon neutral existence, because that simply wouldn’t be American, now would it? 

If I’m doing them a disservice, I only need to reflect on my own experiences in the UK, which I would best sum up as short-term nimbyism and a political system which mirrors America. They both seem to attract rotten apples. 

If Brits are just a diluted version of guzzling Americans, where are the countries and cultures where climate change is being taken more seriously?

Two countries, Bhutan and Suriname, have already achieved carbon negative status, managing to remove more carbon than they emit. They’re also tiny, with populations well under a million and not really the answer I’m looking for.

Iceland is our first European example, well on its way to carbon neutrality. It comfortably generates more electricity from renewable sources than it consumes. Sitting on the equivalent of a geological gold mine, it is blessed with an abundance of geothermal energy, which accounts for 66% of its primary energy needs. Carbon neutrality has to be a relatively easy ask for a country of active volcanic islands whose population is only 375,000.

The Green Future Index 2022, a comparative ranking of 76 nations and their ability to develop a sustainable low carbon future highlights Denmark and the Netherlands as the most prepared countries after Iceland. Setting a carbon neutral target is the easy part. The governments most likely to achieve their pledges are those that have passed their targets into law. Only 6 countries have opted to do this so far, with most setting 2050 as the deadline. This includes Denmark, Sweden (2045), France and the UK. 

I’m struggling to believe that the British government is serious about its legal responsibilities when the current one continues to issue North Sea drilling licences and a likely future Labour one is already rowing back on pledges to invest in a renewable energy future? 

On my first visit to Denmark over 30 years ago, my newly appointed distributor for the Watford-based PC company I worked for and now good friend, explained how the district heating system of Aarhus worked there and for nearly two-thirds of all Danish homes. There was more to their efficiency than the triple glazed windows and good insulation, which my poor knowledge of Denmark extended to. The city was in fact a network of subterranean pipes that efficiently distribute heat underground to warm the 95% of homes connected.

Originally, some of the heat was captured and reused from the industrial processes located in Aarhus, fired up by fossil fuels. Now there is a shift to move the energy mix away from fossil and biomass, replacing thermal generators with heat pumps powered by renewable electricity.

One exciting new development in the UK, Denmark and other parts of Europe is geothermal. To capture this energy requires a borehole, three to four km in depth, nothing that the oil industry hasn’t been doing for years. On average the temperature increases by 25-30°C with each km of depth.

Cold water is allowed to flow in from the surface under low pressure (not like fracking) and the hot rocks below heat the water which is returned to the surface through a second borehole. It’s then ready to be used to heat homes or generate electricity.

The UK has a potential head start. According to the Coal Authority, a quarter of UK’s homes and businesses are sited close to an abandoned deep coal mine. Not surprising when there are 23,000 of them.

Old mines quickly fill with water, which has now been naturally warmed to between 12–20°C . The Authority estimates that the temperature of the water is sufficient to heat every home located in an old coalfield area, harvested through the use of heat pumps.

What a fabulous opportunity for the government of the day to see through on its levelling up agenda, delivering 4,500 direct jobs and a further 10,000 in the supply chain, saving 90,000 tonnes of carbon to boot.

In 2019, Helen Goodman, the MP for Bishop Auckland in the North East of England, led a Westminster debate on using mine water to heat homes in mining communities. 

Durham University’s study had already confirmed that there was enough energy available to heat a planned development of 200 new homes in Spennymoor, serving as a helpful test case.

Today, the well respected MP is no longer serving her community and the exciting geothermal study, is still just that, a theoretical study.

Innargi, a Danish geothermal energy company has recently signed a 30 year agreement to operate the largest European heating plant in the city of Aarhus. The headline confirms their belief that geothermal offers a sensible opportunity to provide baseload energy for district heating, a sustainable alternative to biomass, coal and gas. 

In Spain, Hunosa, the state-owned energy service company, has transformed the old coal mine of Barredo to create the largest geothermal district heating project in the country. 

Even though the mine was closed, pumps were forced to continue working, moving water to avoid flooding, a potential high cost for Hunosa who manage the facility. 

Instead, they now use water to water heat pumps, providing hot water and heating to the citizens of Mieres where the mine is located. CO2 emissions have been reduced by 650 tons per year and new job opportunities created, replacing some of the lost ones when the coal mine closed. 

As late as October 2022, at a Conservative Party conference, the then Business Secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, was reported to say this about fracking, a contentious process to boost the availability of natural gas in the UK, helping who, I’m not exactly sure? 

He would be "delighted" to allow fracking, (in his garden) particularly if he got "royalties". BBC.

A reminder to us all.