Heating Yellowknife's homes by tapping into the tunnels beneath the defunct Con Mine is moving closer to reality, according to the city.

City officials held a meeting Thursday night to share the latest findings of its feasibility study into the potential for harnessing geothermal heat from the decommissioned gold mine.

It found that enough geothermal energy exists under the mine to heat 1,600 to 2,000 homes in the N.W.T. capital. Furthermore, if that energy from the mine site is used to its full capacity, the city believes it could reduce Yellowknife's greenhouse gas emissions by 24,000 tonnes a year.

"Because of economic or other constraints you may not be able to develop it to its fullest potential," said Bill Wong, a consultant hired by the city to carry out the study. "But even half or three-quarters of it would be still quite a good contribution to the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets."

Wong proposed that the city develop a new subdivision specifically for geothermal energy, rather than trying to retrofit existing homes.

The best locations for such a new subdivision would be off Taylor Road or close to the Con Mine site itself, he said.

Harnessing geothermal heat for the downtown core could also work, he said, because there is a deep tunnel that runs beneath the area, providing one of the best sources of heat in the city.

The Con Mine, located on the city's southern limits on the edge of Yellowknife Bay, produced more than five million ounces of gold from 1938 until it closed in 2003.