Engineering Group of the Geological Society - Peter Brabham Lecture

For the first time the University of Leeds hosted a joint Engineering Group and Yorkshire Regional Group of the Geological Society meeting. Dr. Peter Brabham from the University of Cardiff detailed the extent, geology and economics of the South Wales Coalfields, which at their height comprised over 1,800 operating mines. The lecture then progress on to a pilot scheme where Dr Brabham had been involved in extracting sustainable heat energy from the now flooded mine workings to provide district heating. A detailed case study was presented for the town of Caerau, where water from a depth of 230m and a temperature of 20.6C was recovered; confirming the viability of the site for a heat pump. As a result of his research £6.5m additional funding has been provided to progress the scheme. The lecture highlighted how the legacy of coal mining can be exploited to provide a sustainable energy source, which could be applicable to other areas of the UK with a mining past, such as the north of England. The lecture concluded with a question and answer session.

University of Leeds

5/16/2018 5:00:00 PM