An investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) worth up to £10.6m will enable a revolutionary geothermal venture at United Downs near Redruth in Cornwall.
The United Downs Deep Geothermal Power project, which is the first of its kind in the UK, will explore the geothermal resources at depth and hopes to use the energy to drive a demonstration power plant supplying electricity to the local grid. This exciting project will be led by Geothermal Engineering Limited (GEL).
To unlock the potential at United Downs two boreholes (called ‘wells’) will be drilled, one 2.5km deep and the other 4.5km deep. The deeper of the two wells would be the deepest onshore hole in the UK. Water will be circulated between the wells, collecting heat from the rocks, before being brought to surface at a temperature of about 175°C and being fed into the demonstration power plant. The plant will generate 1 MW of clean renewable electricity, which is enough to meet the electricity needs of about 1,500 households.
The drilling will begin in early 2018 and take about 6 months. Testing the wells, characterising the geothermal system and installing the power plant will take a further 18 months, with a target commissioning date in early 2020.
