A wine storage company in north-east England is using heat from a disused coalmine to keep its warehouses at the perfect temperature for thousands of vintages. Lanchester Wines has been tapping into the geothermal energy of flooded mine water for the past eight winters, reducing its reliance on fossil fuels and cutting heating bills by approximately 35%.
Innovative Heating Solution for Wine Storage
Most people store wine in a fridge or cellar, but for a company with warehouses full of bottles, a different approach is needed. Lanchester Wines uses water from a nearby disused coalmine, which sits at around 19°C year-round, to maintain ideal storage temperatures of 8-10°C. The system pumps the water out, extracts heat, boosts it with a heat pump, and distributes it through pipes.
Veronica Cleary, a director at the company, noted that while the concept seemed simple, implementation proved challenging. Some boreholes were poorly located, and an initial access agreement with the Mining Remediation Authority (MRA) caused delays. After nearly two years of renegotiations, a streamlined deal is now in place until 2044, providing a template for other businesses.
Potential for Wider Adoption
There are 23,000 flooded coalmines in the UK, with about 25% of homes and many businesses located above or near them. This offers huge potential for mine water heating. The north-east already leads the way with Britain's largest mine water heat network, supplying Gateshead College, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, and 350 homes, with plans to expand.
Similar projects exist in the Netherlands and Germany, but the UK has been slow to adopt the technology due to regulatory barriers and technical challenges. Drilling into old mines can release toxic gases, and minerals in the water can cause corrosion. However, the rewards are significant, with mine water at depths of 1km reaching temperatures as high as 40°C.
Fleur Loveridge, professor of geo-energy engineering at the University of Leeds, said the Lanchester Wines system demonstrates that mine water heating works in UK conditions. 'It's great that they're securing the future of it,' she added.
