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Agreed that drilling isn't easy, but this does seem more like a budgetary and political issue than an engineering challenge. Not much (if any) drilling may eve

Agreed that drilling isn't easy, but this does seem more like a budgetary and political issue than an engineering challenge. Not much (if any) drilling may even be necessary, as there's also the option of running coolant lines directly into the train tunnels. Existing water infrastructure could also be used as coolant — especially if it's otherwise sitting idle for a fire that hopefully never happens!

SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago
> seem more like a budgetary and political issue than an engineering challenge. Science is about proving that something can be done at all. Engineering is about taking that result and productionising it - doing it reliably, safely, effectively and on a budget. On the right site, even if that's in a busy city. "time and budget issues" are part of any engineering challenge. Very few engineering projects are "Money no object". An also, there currently isn't the political will in the UK to invest in expensive infrastructure and engineering projects. London actually gets more investment than the hinterlands. See https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/whats-happening-hs2-britains-costly-high-speed-railway-2023-10-04/ https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/whats-happening-hs2-britain...
- ProfessorLayton 3y ago
  It seems like we're in agreement here? Geothermal heat pumps aren't particularly novel, so it doesn't seem like engineering a solution is the blocker here. It's mainly politics.
  - SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago
    Exactly, budget is an engineering concern, and in this case it's nigh impossible to engineer a solution, given the space and budgetary constraints.
    - ProfessorLayton 3y ago
      The budgetary constraints are purely political though. Stuff like this has been engineered before at a reasonable cost (eg the Green Park station for 9M according to a poster above). So while yes things have to be engineered to a cost, it’s clearly not some impossibility high number.

SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago

> seem more like a budgetary and political issue than an engineering challenge. Science is about proving that something can be done at all. Engineering is about taking that result and productionising it - doing it reliably, safely, effectively and on a budget. On the right site, even if that's in a busy city. "time and budget issues" are part of any engineering challenge. Very few engineering projects are "Money no object". An also, there currently isn't the political will in the UK to invest in expensive infrastructure and engineering projects. London actually gets more investment than the hinterlands. See https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/whats-happening-hs2-britains-costly-high-speed-railway-2023-10-04/ https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/whats-happening-hs2-britain...

ProfessorLayton 3y ago
It seems like we're in agreement here? Geothermal heat pumps aren't particularly novel, so it doesn't seem like engineering a solution is the blocker here. It's mainly politics.
- SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago
  Exactly, budget is an engineering concern, and in this case it's nigh impossible to engineer a solution, given the space and budgetary constraints.
  - ProfessorLayton 3y ago
    The budgetary constraints are purely political though. Stuff like this has been engineered before at a reasonable cost (eg the Green Park station for 9M according to a poster above). So while yes things have to be engineered to a cost, it’s clearly not some impossibility high number.