Cornwall to house UK's first deep geothermal plant
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The UK’s first commercial deep geothermal power plant will be built in Cornwall following approval by the county council.
British firm Geothermal Engineering expects the plant near Redruth to be fully operational by 2013, providing renewable heat for the local area and renewable electricity for the National Grid.
The plant will have the deepest on-shore well in the UK, reaching 4.5km below ground level to access rocks at temperatures of around 200°C.
This will provide up to 55MW of renewable heat energy and 10MW of electricity − enough to heat 20 schools for a year and produce power for 20,000 homes.
Work will begin in early 2011 to build the plant on a brownfield site within an existing industrial estate.
Ryan Law, managing director of Geothermal and chair of the Renewable Energy Association’s Deep Geothermal Group, said: ‘Not only can we contribute renewable, continuous power to the grid, we also want to change the way the UK meets its heat demands by offering energy-efficient, decentralised heat.
‘The Department of Energy and Climate Change has already estimated that deep geothermal technology could supply between 1 and 5GW of baseload renewable electricity by 2030.’
Noting the broader benefits of the plant, he added: ’Supporting the development of geothermal energy can aid local regeneration by attracting businesses and companies that are able to use the renewable heat.
‘In addition, it will help to develop the UK’s geothermal expertise and skills that will allow us to compete internationally as the geothermal industry grows across the world.
‘Nonetheless, it is only through commitment and support from government that the further private investment, which is needed to fully exploit the UK’s geothermal potential, will be raised.’
Geothermal Engineering is currently pursuing additional funding options with industry partners and the European Regional Development Fund. The company was awarded £1.5m in funding by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in December 2009.
Readers' comments (8)
mark leybourne | 18 Aug 2010 2:00 pm
Is geothermal power of this type really renewable. Has anyone studied the risks of the localised cooling. If this type of power generation takes off what will be the overall effect on the planet? Squirt enough water pistols on a bonfire and eventaully it will go out
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SD | 18 Aug 2010 5:32 pm
The cooling load shouldn’t be an issue, compared with the thermal mass of the earth the draw is infinitesimal, and in any event, this would be sited in the Cornish granite batholith – granite is somewhat self heating due to radioactive decay of naturally occurring minerals.
I recall that the Camborne School of Mines had a research bore for this purpose about 25-30 years ago.
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Kevin | 18 Aug 2010 7:31 pm
How does this location and the project risks compare with the problems experienced in Basel Switzerland.
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-03/does-geothermal-power-cause-earthquakes
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Anonymous | 23 Aug 2010 9:02 am
I think that the test bore completed by Cambourne School of Mines was in the 1970's this produced elecricity the drill rig and compressor were supplied by Holman Bros part of Compair
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dieseltaylor | 25 Aug 2010 3:55 pm
I think the article provides the answer to your question. One thing I think is that the granite is pretty monolithic - but thats only a guess
"Geologists always expect that the water-infusion step will create some seismic activity but, as the Swiss fiasco proved, the tremors can cause real damage. Drilling-induced fractures can interact with existing seismic systems (Basel sits on a fault line) to produce quakes. "The size and number of quakes depends on how much fluid you pump in and how fast," says Colin Williams, a scientist on the U.S. Geological Survey's earthquake hazards team. "The key is finding a balance that results in unnoticeable microseismicity."
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brianm | 25 Aug 2010 4:04 pm
Mark : You have a point, even if the amount removed is very small compared to the capacity of the earth, what are the local effects, i.e. localised cooling spots causing cracking movement etc.
Might not be a problem, but it certainly needs an answer.
Green energy is not without its consequences, for example removing large quantities of energy from wind or tidal streams.
We know a lot about the dangers of nuclear energy, but little about the taking of energy from 'green sources' - something about a butterflie's wings in China?
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Anonymous | 7 Sep 2010 10:21 am
Why did the govt abandon this 30 years ago?
They also abandoned shallower geothermal heat-only wells, leaving Southampton as the only UK geothermal scheme. I think the district heating was developed with money from a Finnish bank and a French engineering co.
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Anonymous | 11 Jan 2011 7:15 pm
If we're questioning the seismic impact of this technology, then surely we should be questioning the seismic impact of the many thousands of oil and gas wells dug all over the world - and many as deep or deeper than this. Have they been shown to have a long-term negative local effects?
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