About

Objectives and ambition

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) with a global warming potential (GWP) 28-36 times that of CO2 for a 100-year timescale. It is a potent precursor to air pollution, contributing to ozone formation, which itself causes serious health problems. It also has a short residence time in the atmosphere with a GWP 84 times higher than CO2 over 20 years. Therefore, reducing methane emissions contributes to relatively fast improving air quality and slowing down climate change and can be achieved cost-effectively, exploiting new business opportunities as methane is a valuable energy source.

Coal mine methane (CMM) is a term given to the methane gas produced or emitted in association with coal mining activities, either from the coal seam itself or from other gassy formations underground. The amount of CMM generated at a specific operation depends on the productivity of the coal mine, the gassiness of the coal seam and any underlying and overlying formations, operational variables, and geological conditions. CMM can be captured by engineered boreholes that augment the mine's ventilation system or it can be emitted into the mine environment and exhausted from the mine shafts along with ventilation air. The large amounts of methane released during mining are subject to concerns about adequate mine ventilation to ensure worker safety. However, they also can create opportunities to generate energy if this gas is captured and utilized properly.

Specific objectives of REM project are as follows:

1. increased safety of miners – by removing significant volumes of AMM/VAM from underground workings,
2. significant climate change mitigation – by effective utilisation of captured AMM/VAM instead of venting it to the atmosphere,
3. better adaptation of coal mines to climate change – by emphasizing them/teaching them how effectively manage and control coal mine methane emissions,
4. more cost - effective activities of coal mines to smooth future phase-out transformation – by preparing lessons learnt document and training them based on REM project experience,
5. increased pollution prevention and control – by elaborating methodology to monitor VAM emissions through coal mines’ shafts, increased motivation of coal mines’ management to invest in CMM utilization – by demonstrating the real economic effects of the REM project based on the successful “Pniówek” mine example.