London South East | The UK's favourite investor portal.

Hot topic: UK’s first deep geothermal project gathers steam

The United Downs project in Cornwall is poised to go live next year – and it could be a gamechanger in the race to net zero

The United Downs project, near Redruth, Cornwall, is now undergoing final testing and, if all goes as planned, should be exporting electricity to the grid by 2022. It will produce 3MWe of electricity on a constant basis, enough to power about 7,000 homes, and approximately 12MW of heat.

The initial costs of scoping, drilling and testing are significant, but once up and running, the clean energy that can be produced is limitless. It also doesn’t ebb and flow, like wind or solar. “Geothermal, potentially, has a really important role to play in providing ‘baseload’ electricity to complement other forms of renewable generation,” says Clayton. “It doesn’t matter if it’s sunny, it doesn’t matter if it’s windy. It’s just there.”

There are potential knock-on effects for the surrounding region too. “These plants are not just about electricity,” says Law. “There’s a whole industry that develops around them. [For example], the sale of heat for industrial processes or agriculture, or mineral extraction from geothermal fluids.”

While we’ve made so much progress in the last 20 years in reducing the carbon content of electricity … there’s been so little progress with heat. If you look at a domestic setup, 80 per cent of the energy used is heat, not electricity. So actually, the ability to generate clean heat is really important.”

Law says the site will be up and running “in the second half of 2022”. A power purchase agreement to buy the electricity once it is online was agreed with the green energy company Ecotricity in 2020.

But when the energy from those hot rocks begins to be harvested, there likely won’t be anything much to see. Just the neat slotting in of another cog in the wheel towards a green energy future.

https://www.positive.news/environment/energy/uks-first-deep-geothermal-energy-project-gathers-steam/

Doug Parr, Policy Director at Greenpeace, commented:

“Aside from providing clean, reliable, renewable electricity, geothermal has its own distinct advantages – advantages that neatly fill some of the gaps in current policy. It is a source of renewable heat, lower carbon than trying to integrate hydrogen into our gas supply, and it can provide good quality employment in its local area, helping to distribute the economic benefits of decarbonisation. And that economic opportunity could be built on – geothermal power is an increasingly attractive option in many parts of the world, the potential market is huge and the UK has plenty of geologists and engineers with drilling expertise and limited prospects in their current industry. This is a technology perfectly tailored to meet the challenge of decarbonising without leaving oil and gas workers behind.”

Germany’s use of deep geothermal energy reduced the country’s emissions by more than 1.7 Mt CO2 equivalent in 2017. In addition, there is the creation of skilled jobs, the industry is estimated to have created more than 22,000 jobs and added €13.3 billion to the German economy since 2000.

The success of geothermal developments in countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands is closely linked to their governments’ commitment to supporting this technology through policies, regulations, incentives and initiatives. This success is specifically linked to the availability of a long-term, stable regulatory framework and the willingness of the state to share economic risks during the early stages of development.

Michael Chendorain, Associate Director at ARUP, said that UK can match or even surpass this success should the Government provide the right support package: “The UK’s deep geothermal resources are proven and can play a key role in decarbonising heat which makes up around 40% of the UK’s energy consumption and nearly a third of UK greenhouse gas emissions. Homes, universities, hospitals, and a broad range of industries can all benefit from a deep geothermal revolution but this will require Government support.”

https://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/geothermal-for-economic-decarbonisation-opportunities-uk/

£100m divided by 12 projects = £8.3m for each project.

The report estimates that, should the Government establish a Geothermal Development Incentive, 12 deep geothermal projects could be operational by 2025, creating 1,300 jobs and generating more than GBP100 million (approx. USD 140 million) of investment.

...............................

Dr Nina Skorupska CBE, Chief Executive of the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), said: “As this report demonstrates, deep geothermal must be central to the Government’s energy policy for the next 30 years, but with real and tangible benefits in the immediate future.

“Deep geothermal has the potential to become a world leading industry here in the UK, provide a stable transition away from oil and gas, and help meet the Government’s net zero ambitions by decarbonising heat on a mass scale. It would also create 1,000s of new jobs and generate tens of millions of pounds in new investment.

“The REA believes that urgent work is required to aid the roll out of all heat technologies, however, with the right support from the Government, deep geothermal will play a major role in Britain’s heat generation for decades to come.”

There is a significant opportunity to create a world leading geothermal industry in the UK which could export internationally in terms of expertise, as with the North Sea. As the Government looks to deliver a ‘green recovery’ and meet their net zero ambitions, deep geothermal would act as a catalyst for new green jobs and investment, particularly in towns and cities in the North of England, Midlands and South-West.

This week in Parliament, Dr Kieran Mullan, Member of Parliament for Crewe and Nantwich, urged the Prime Minister to get behind the report and its proposals. He said: “As we recover from the huge economic challenges of the lock down we need to grab every opportunity available. We have the chance here to turbo charge investment, often in places in the North like Crewe which are at the heart of the levelling up agenda. We can create new skilled jobs and importantly, sustainable green jobs which are so important now.”

“We have lagged too far behind for too long in this area and now as the whole economy pivots, we can’t afford to fall further behind.”

Professor Iain Stewart, UNESCO Chair in Geoscience and Society; Professor of Geoscience Communication at the University of Plymouth, also added his support: “Exploiting the natural heat from deep beneath our feet seems to me to be a no-brainer. Its clean, green and renewable and can really support the push to reach the UK’s net-zero climate targets. What’s more, there’s a window of opportunity for the UK to be a technical leader in this emerging energy field, which has got so much potential globally.”

Latest Share Chat

Member Info for Moneymunch

Followers

Following

Posts (Last 30 Days)

Posts (All Time)

Last Post

Member Since

Share Chat Post Distribution (Last 30 Days)

Activity Log (Last 30 Days)