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Mine water heat network goes live at Seaham Garden Village
13/10/2026
News
A heat network using water from former coal mines to provide low-carbon heating to homes is now fully operational at Seaham Garden Village in County Durham, UK.
The new energy centre is supplying heat to around 750 homes using mine water from the Mining Remediation Authority’s Dawdon water treatment scheme. Heat exchangers and a heat pump extract heat from the mine water before it is distributed through a district heating system across the new housing development.
The scheme forms part of the wider Seaham Garden Village development, which will comprise 1,500 homes on the Durham coast south of Sunderland.
How mine water heat works
Source: Mining Remediation Authority
The project is a collaboration between the Mining Remediation Authority, Karbon Homes, Esh Construction, Vital Energi and Durham County Council. Supported through the government’s Heat Networks Investment Project, the scheme is expected to reduce carbon emissions by around 2,600t/y of CO2, equivalent to almost 65,000t over 25 years.
Around 25% of homes and businesses in Great Britain are located above former coal mines, according to the Mining Remediation Authority. It says there is significant potential for wider deployment of mine water heating systems. The organisation operates more than 80 mine water treatment schemes across the country, a number of which could be adapted to provide renewable heat. Similar projects have already been developed in Gateshead and Wales.
