United Kingdom:

Council asks for Local Views on Future of Renewable Energy in Cornwall (West Briton)

Report suggests geothermal power in Cornwall could generate up to 4 GW of electricity

Cornwall Council in south-west England has published the draft Renewable Energy Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) (PDF) containing guidance on a range of renewable energy technologies including geothermal, inviting comments until Friday March 27.

From the section on "Deep Geothermal" in the document, "Water is injected to a depth of approximately 4-5km where it is heated by suitable rocks temperatures exceeding 150˚C. The rock is fractured, allowing the injected water to circulate and heat-up. Water or steam is then recaptured through another borehole and returned to surface to produce renewable heat or drive steam turbines to generate renewable electricity.

Cornwall was the location for Europe’s first deep geothermal research and development facility, the Hot Dry Rocks (HDR) project, which took place at Rosemanowes, near Penryn, between 1976 and 1991. It has been estimated that geothermal power in Cornwall could generate up to 4 GW of electricity."

Read More.......