In what used to be the industrial northeast heartland of Britain, the dirty energy legacy of the Gateshead coal mines that powered factory steam engines during the Industrial Revolution has been transformed into leadership in today’s green energy revolution, through the Gateshead mine water project..

Originally known as the Hebburn Minewater Project, the £7.7 million ($10.4 million) project draws geothermal energy from abandoned flooded mines in the former Hebb/urn Colliery, which opened in 1792 and shut down in 1932. The coal workings, 150 metres below the town centre, have been generating localized, secure, low-carbon heat since spring 2023.