Green energy: Old mine workings could be used to power homes in Falkirk

The water that has been trapped deep underground in old coal mines is already powering homes with clean energy in some parts of Scotland after successful pilots.

It involves using geothermal energy from former coal mines and Bo’ness could be suitable to use the new technology, a national study of several sites across Scotland’s local authorities found.

A recent report to Falkirk Council’s executive highlighted the work that is currently being done to reduce emissions. The council now has 124 electric vehicles to its fleet, while larger vehicles are being converted to run on hydrogenated vegetable oil.

A ‘waste to energy’ project that will shortly be up and running in Earlsgate is also helping to cut emissions. Councillors heard that the combined CO2e saving from these is the equivalent of the electricity consumption emissions from over 34,000 households in the UK, based on average energy usage figures from Ofgem.

In 2019, councillors pledged to reduce council emissions to net zero by 2030 – but that target is looking increasingly unlikely to be met. Members were reminded that the local authority does not have enough cash to fund all of the projects needed to reduce carbon to net zero by the target date.

The report to the executive reminded members that while there are lots of possibilities for innovative ways to reduce emissions, Falkirk Council will need to find external funding to go ahead with any more projects.

Some grants have been already sourced, including one from Scottish Government’s Heat Network Support Unit which is allowing the council to carry out a feasibility study into upgrading the current gas heating system at Callendar Park flats.

Members heard that the heat system could be used for all of the tower blocks, the council offices in Callendar Business Park, St Andrew’s Primary and Graeme High schools and perhaps even the site of the new town hall, at Callendar Square.

And it is a possibility that mine water could be used to power this network. The council hopes to use some of the £250,000 funding to develop a business case so that the project is “investment ready”.

Councillors also approved a new strategy to make buildings and infrastructure in the Falkirk area more energy efficient and protect people from fuel poverty. The Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy aims to ensure, as far as reasonably possible, no household in Scotland is in fuel poverty by 2040.

The council set its own target to become net zero in 2019 – 15 years earlier than the Scottish Government’s national target. While the 2030 target, agreed by councillors in 2019, is not legally binding, the council will have to reduce its emissions by at least 75 per cent by 2030 and by 90 per cent by 2040.