Geothermal boss maps out Cornish ambitions

The UK's first deep geothermal power plant could be up and running by 2013, after Cornwall Council last week gave the go-ahead for the pioneering 65MW project.

UK-based Geothermal Engineering Ltd said it expects to begin drilling the first deep well at the proposed site on an industrial estate in Redruth early next year. The 4.5km-deep well is expected to access rocks that reach temperatures of up 200°C and is intended to be followed by two further wells.

The completed facility is expected to provide up to 55MW of renewable heat energy and a further 10MW of renewable electricity.

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, Ryan Law, managing director of Geothermal Engineering Ltd and chair of the Renewable Energy Association's Deep Geothermal Group, said the company had raised the £10.5m needed to complete the first well and test the viability of the site. The funding was secured through a mix of private sector backers and a £1.5m grant awarded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change in 2009.

"If the results of the testing are positive, then the appetite is there for further funding," he said, explaining that the company would have to raise a further £30m to complete the project. "We've spoken to a lot of funds that are definitely keen if the results are positive – partly because this is a novel project, and partly because they recognise the potential for selling the renewable electricity and heat we will generate."

Law said the company had deliberately selected a site on an industrial estate as the location opens up the prospect of attracting firms that can make use of a large supply of renewable heat.

The electricity and heat generated at the power plant will also be eligible for support through the government's existing Renewable Obligation subsidy regime and its proposed Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

However, Law warned that the government will have to increase the level of subsidy in the short term if Cornwall is to establish itself as a large-scale producer of geothermal energy.

"The government's recent Pathways document suggested that the UK could generate a gigawatt of geothermal energy from Cornwall alone by 2050," he said. "But for that level of investment to take place, investors will have to see better returns and there will need to be more of an incentive for developers."