Canadian village taps abandoned coal mines for clean geothermal energy

The village of Cumberland on Vancouver Island, Canada, is pioneering a clean energy initiative by repurposing its abandoned coal mines for geothermal heating and cooling. Once a thriving coal-mining center from 1888 to the late 1960s, Cumberland’s extensive underground shafts and tunnels now serve a new purpose. The University of Victoria’s Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET) program is studying how groundwater in these mines maintains stable temperatures year-round—cooler than the surface in summer and warmer in winter. By leveraging this temperature difference with heat pumps, the project aims to provide low-cost, near-zero carbon heating and cooling for community buildings, effectively creating a large ground-source heat exchanger beneath the village. This initiative not only offers technical and environmental benefits but also symbolizes a transformative shift for Cumberland, reconnecting the community with its industrial past in a sustainable way. The project focuses initially on a civic precinct including a community center, municipal offices, affordable housing, and an industrial area near Comox Lake.