Contractor sought for Sunderland geothermal trials

Sunderland City Council is calling for expressions of interest from contractors to carry out borehole drilling that will establish the viability of a geothermal heat network that could power hundreds of buildings in the city. 

Contractors only have a few days to respond*.

The council is asking interested parties to consider their experience, availability and recommended approaches to the borehole drilling and testing aspects of the project, that will allow the city to advance its plans to create a new way of powering homes and commercial buildings –  using mine water. 

Borehole drilling works are planned at the former Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland to determine the feasibility of a network that could save upwards of 4,100 tonnes of CO2e a year, representing a 70% carbon saving against mains gas.

Mine water gets warmer the deeper it is, following a ‘geothermal gradient’. Temperatures range from 10 to 20°C, but can reach 40°C at depths of around 1km. Mine water can be abstracted from boreholes, shafts or adits.

The £1.6m Wearmouth Colliery study, supported by government funding from the £270m Green Heat Networks Fund transition scheme, is out to formal market engagement on the procurement of specialist contractors, to drill pilot boreholes into the former mine workings. The council will be supported by the Coal Authority to engage with contractors.

It is expected that further studies will then be carried out to understand whether the heat extracted could support the new homes being developed on Riverside Sunderland, as well as other buildings across the city.  The chosen drilling contractor might then go on and drill the final operational boreholes as part of the construction programme, in which heat exchangers and heat pumps will be used to recover the heat from mine water and distribute it via district heating networks.

Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “This is another step forward on our journey towards a carbon neutral city, and reflects our ambition to innovate to help our businesses to operate and residents to live more sustainably. We’re looking forward to seeing the response from the market and hope to engage a partner to help us advance this project soon.”

Expressions of interest are to be submitted by 31st January 2022. The contract is estimated to run from 2nd May to 31st August 2022. Interested contractors should visit the NEPO Portal  or the government’s Contracts Finder service.

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