Despite the relatively low-cost projections of increasing the level of support to five Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) due to the low level of expected generation in the UK, the banding review has decided to leave support levels at two ROCs. This may largely be due to the fact that the UK can benefit from the high levels of investment in Europe that are likely to reduce the levelized costs of geothermal power generation by half by 2020.
The UK can effectively get a free ride and exploit the technological innovations; however, the result will be a delay in generation. Cost projections for geothermal developments in the UK have shown that power generation is not economically viable without the inclusion of heat in combined heat and power (CHP) plants.