Tuesday, May 1, 2018

United Kingdom: New Hope for Eden Project Geothermal Power Project

The Eden Project could use hot rocks to generate energy (Pirate FM)

(Courtesy Eden Project)
Cornwall Council could provide £1.4 million towards an Eden Project scheme aiming to use hot rocks to generate energy. The council’s Cabinet will decide whether the match funding should be provided from the council’s business, energy and industrial strategy grant fund.

The project at Eden is being led by Cornwall-based EGS Energy which has planning permission for a 3-4 MW geothermal power plant on a site at the Eden Project. On its website Eden states: “On a site the size of a football pitch, the geothermal power plant would produce enough power for the Eden Project and around 4,000 houses, plus all the heat we can use, and more.”

The plant would use a two-well system which would have two boreholes. Cold water is pumped down one hole, picks up the heat from the rocks below the surface and then is pumped back to the surface at around 180°C. The hot water is then run through a turbine to create electricity.