The Dutch city of Heerlen is not a name that is familiar to the world. But geothermal energy and old coal mines seem to have put the city on the map and for the world to take notice. The Dutch city now has the world’s first and only operational geothermal power station that is powered by water heated in old coalmine shafts. While most of the old coal mines that no longer produce coal are abandoned and rendered useless, the Dutch have found a unique way to use them. A coal mine flooding with water is generally considered a disaster, but this one is boon to the planet.

Water is pumped down into the deserted shafts at depths of over 800 meters. Here water is heated to a temperature of around 35 degrees centigrade by the natural heat of the earth’s interior. This water is sufficient to power around 350 homes on a daily basis. The technology is pretty awesome and cuts out carbon emissions by 55% when compared to regular power production methods. While only cities and towns that are close to abandoned shafts can use this method, it still is petty welcome in terms of novelty.

Maybe in future we could build underground tunnels across the planet to harness geothermal energy in this very specific fashion. The idea has great potential and hopefully others will follow the Dutch in execution.
Via:Â Cleantechnica