minecraft or tunnel and winze

Operating on the same principle as the Sisyphus Train though perhaps with more physical obstacles to contend with, the always interesting BLDG Blog reports that a firm in Scotland is exploring the feasibility of turning the region’s exhausted and disused deep shaft mines into storehouses of potential energy.
When production of renewable energy exceeds demand, surplus electricity would be diverted to raising an enormous weight from the depths of the collieries up to the surface then reclaiming the energy once it is needed by lowering the counterbalance. I wonder what other superannuated technology and infrastructure might also be repurposed in an act that virtually entails reinterning and secreting away the polluting first drivers of industry.  Much more to explore at the link above.