Geothermal heat from mine water at Seaham Garden Village
Geothermal heat from mine water is a low‑carbon, reliable energy source that uses the naturally warmed water found in abandoned coal mines to heat homes and buildings. In County Durham, this innovative approach is helping to transform a former coalfield area into a sustainable new community, turning an industrial legacy into a clean energy asset.
By capturing and distributing this underground heat, the project demonstrates how geothermal heat from mine water can support long-term regeneration, cut carbon emissions, and provide an affordable, locally sourced alternative to traditional heating systems.
One quarter of properties in the UK sit on the coalfields. When those underground mines were abandoned, the pumps that kept them dry are often switched off and the mines fill with water. Through geothermal processes, the water then heats up.
The heat from this water can be extracted, providing a low carbon, sustainable heat source, which under the right conditions can compete with public supply gas prices.
Harnessing geothermal heat from mine water at Seaham Garden Village
A flagship example of this exists in Seaham, County Durham.
Seaham Garden Village is a new mixed-use sustainable community located to the south of Seaham, comprising 1,500 homes, a new primary school, village centre and innovation hubs. Mine water heating will provide power to 750 homes on the development, delivered by northern housing association Karbon Homes.
The district heat network project has been led by Durham County Council, with the Mining Remediation Authority spearheading the development of the mine water heating initiative. Multiple organisations have been involved including Karbon Homes who has led the way in adopting the mine water heat technology.
Vital Energi has been appointed to design, build and operate the low-carbon system, and will run the district heat network for the next 40 years. The project has also benefited from a grant from the Government’s Heat Networks Investment Project which has enabled the project to be delivered.
The state-of-the-art Energy Centre, built next to our Dawdon mine water treatment scheme, will capture the geothermal heat from the warm mine water, which will be upgraded to domestic heating levels via a heat pump, delivering low-cost and low-carbon heat to the new Karbon homes.
Warmed by geothermal processes, the mine water can provide a continuous supply of water at 18 to 20°C. With mine water temperatures unaffected by seasonal variations, there is a potential 6MW of low cost, low carbon sustainable energy available for local space heating use from the Dawdon treatment scheme all through the year.
Our specialist mine energy team can provide advice, support and consultancy to a range of external stakeholders about projects across the UK.
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Presentations from Seaham Garden Village Engagement Day:
Durham County Council – Cllr Kevin Shaw – Cabinet Portfolio for Strategic Housing and Assets (PDF 1.34MB)
Tolent & The Mining Remediation Authority – John Wood & Jeremy Crooks – Mine energy at Seaham Garden Village (PDF 6.6MB)
Triple Point – Amy Fry – Heat Networks Investment Project: The Story so Far (PDF 2.1MB)
North East Local Enterprise Partnership – Andrew Clarke – Mine energy in the North East, and the Mine Energy Taskforce (PDF 0.26MB)
BEIS – Brett Hagen – Development of Heat Networks in the UK (PDF 1.3MB)
Nordic Heat – Luke Thomas – Procurement/Next Steps (PDF 0.19MB)
Downloads and other resources
Download the Seaham Garden Village brochure (PDF 9.3MB)