Glasgow geothermal project heats up with first borehole

Marking the beginning of the 15-year research investment, a 7.2m high drilling rig broke ground on the site to form the first borehole for the observatory. Over the next 15 months, the drilling team will create 12 boreholes of various depths, which will enable research into Glasgow’s geology, its underground water systems and the potential for heat from the water in the city’s disused coal mines. 

One of the biggest aims of the project is to find out whether there is a long-term sustainable mine water resource that could provide a low-cost, low-carbon heat source for homes and businesses. 

Measurements will be taken from the boreholes, such as temperature, water movement and water chemistry. Environmental baseline monitoring of near-surface chemistry, gases and waters will also be measured. 

Lord Henley, the undersecretary of state at the UK Government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was joined by representatives from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the British Geological Survey (BGS) who are leading the project. 

The observatory is one of two sites proposed in the £31 million UK Geoenergy Observatories investment commissioned by NERC, the UK’s leading funder for environmental sciences, and operated by the BGS, the UK’s principal provider of impartial geological evidence since 1835. Ramboll is supporting the BGS with multidisciplinary services through all phases of the project from planning and environmental assessment, design and construction through to implementation. 

The Glasgow Geothermal Energy Research Field Site will enable the UK science community to study the low temperature mine water geothermal environment just below the Earth’s surface. 

Lord Henley said: “Clean growth and innovation go hand in hand, so as part of our modern Industrial Strategy we’re investing £31 million into projects like this which could transform derelict coal mines into valuable low carbon sources of energy. “Reusing deep mineshafts could help to reinvigorate local economies, creating new high-skilled jobs and boosting supply chains in traditional mining communities."

Cllr Anna Richardson, Glasgow City Council portfolio holder for sustainability and carbon reduction, said: “Innovation and engineering has been at the heart of the Glasgow City Region’s economy for more than 200 years and it remains an important growth area for our communities. Glasgow’s share of this £31m investment in renewable energy technologies underpins the important research being driven forward by our higher education establishments and energy and engineering businesses, keeping Glasgow firmly on the world stage.”

Ian Manson, chief executive of Clyde Gateway said: “We have secured a comprehensive £23m investment programme in renewable energy for the Clyde Gateway, ranging from research into renewables to the installation of a major district heating system fuelled by renewable energy. Over the next few years, Clyde Gateway will become the best location in Scotland for people and businesses who wish to take carbon out of their energy supplies.”

The BGS will make data from the Glasgow observatory available online from 2019. Data is already being collected and interpreted - the core samples taken from the ground during the drilling process will become a key data source for the project.