Abandoned coal mines could store wind energy

Environment

Surplus wind power can be used to heat up water in flooded mines – a test of the idea is being planned in Scotland in 2024

By James Dinneen

The Barony Colliery in Scotland is one proposed site to test storing wind energy in old coal mines

Ayrshire UAV Images/Alamy

Flooded mines across the UK could store large amounts of wind energy that would otherwise go to waste by heating up the water within them. The heat could then be extracted to warm homes in winter.

In 2022, enough wind energy to power more than a million homes was wasted in the UK, according to the think tank Carbon Tracker. That is largely because infrastructure for wind energy transmission and storage has not…

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