In his weekly column, the Radstock Mayor, Cllr Rupert Bevan writes:

It seems paradoxical that Radstock, which, for centuries provided energy through coal should now be affected, along with the rest of the UK because this commodity is in short supply. On top of all the strictures brought about by Covid-19, it seems we are being asked to pay an eye-watering hike that has caused our energy bills to double in a year.

It seems odd that the hurricanes in the United States which generally presage wind and rain over here have not affected the late summer stillness, thus excluding wind from the 'green' contribution to the national energy bank. It's the shortage of natural gas to supply power stations that seems to be the main problem.

Research is under way to see whether energy can be derived from the old mine workings. Thee tend to flood naturally and when not pumped out, warm up to some 20 degrees C. If you drill down another 500 m further, you reach water reservoirs which were significantly warmer than the flood water in the old mines themselves.

Thereafter the use of a simple heat exchanging device would bring the warmed water to the surface and could be pumped through domestic radiators, ensuring that we had warm water available for the rest of time. Moreover the source of this energy would be green and not involve carbon emissions. The idea is to be tried at Seaham, Co Durham. This location provided miners to work the Radstock pits in the early '60s.

If you are interested in energy conservation of any other climate related issues, you might like to join members of the Town Council at Trinity Hall on Wednesday 23 Sept at 7 pm. There is also a fair currently (www.bathnes.gov.uk/climatefestivalevents) and an opportunity to register your interest in solar panels, although the closing day is 28 Sept. Go to www.solartogether.co.uk/bathNES

Rupert Bevan