(Video 1:49 Minutes) The Eden Project co-founder Sir Tim Smit said the geothermal project was the biggest leap forward for Eden since it opened in a former clay quarry near St Austell in 2001.
A plan to heat the giant biomes of the Eden Project and, eventually, neighbouring communities by tapping into the “hot rocks” beneath the Cornish attraction has moved a step closer.
The Eden Project announced on Monday that it had secured the funding to begin drilling for clean energy next summer.
Cornwall council and the European Union have provided the bulk of the £16.8m needed to launch the geothermal project, which will initially involve a well being sunk almost three miles (4.5km) into the granite crust beneath Eden.
The £16.8m will pay for the first phase of the project – drilling a well, a research programme and a heat main – to prove the extent of the resource.
This first well will initially supply a heating system for Eden’s biomes, offices and greenhouses. It is intended to pave the way for the second phase – another well almost three miles deep and an electricity plant.
Completing the second phase will mean Eden will be generating sufficient renewable energy to become carbon positive by 2023, and it aims to be able to provide heat and power for the local area.
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