Pennines and adjacent areas - Subregion 2
National Geological Screening for a GDF - Pennines region
The screening report hosted on this site is a technical exercise across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. No specific location in England, Wales or Northern Ireland has been identified as a potential GDF site. Any future decision on geological disposal would be subject to community agreement and planning and environmental consents.
Details
Our work shows that we may find a suitable geological setting for a GDF in a small part of this subregion, but the thickness and properties of the potential host rocks present may not be suitable.
Rock cannot generally be seen at the surface in this subregion, except in man-made excavations such as quarries or road cuttings. However, deep boreholes and geophysical investigations, particularly in the mining areas around Selby and north-east of Doncaster, give us an understanding of the rocks present and their distribution.
There are various types of gaps in our understanding of geology and we deal with these gaps in a number of ways.
There are rock salt layers under and to the east of Selby in which it may be possible to site a GDF. The available information suggests that they may be too thin and we would need to do more work to find out whether these rocks have suitable properties and thicknesses.
Some of the subregion has been mined for coal to depths below 100m around Selby and to the north-east of Doncaster and there are known oil resources to the east of Doncaster. In these areas the mining and drilling are likely to have affected the way in which water moves through the rock. Also possible exploration in the future in these areas means that it is more likely that future generations may disturb a facility.
Parts of this area, to the west of York and east of Doncaster, have Petroleum Exploration & Development Licences to allow companies to explore for oil and gas. This exploration is currently at an early stage and it is not known whether oil or gas in these licence areas will be exploited. RWM will continue to monitor how this exploration programme progresses.
Parts of this area, to the north-east of Doncaster, are Coal Authority Licence Areas allowing companies to explore for coal. It is not known whether coal in these licence areas will be exploited. RWM will also continue to monitor how this exploration programme progresses.
For further information, read the report below.
We have also produced a summary of the geological attributes of the Pennines and adjacent areas Region.