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| United Downs Geothermal Project Site in Cornwall, England. |
Arup, a multinational professional services firm headquartered in London which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment, has signed a commitment to purchase Renewable Guarantee of Origin (REGO) certificates from the UK’s first deep geothermal electricity plant when it starts producing electricity.
The plant operator Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL) this week announced drilling has started at the United Downs Industrial Estate in Cornwall. The project is aimed at demonstrating the potential of geothermal resource in the UK to produce electricity and renewable heat.
Arup has committed to purchasing 9000 MWh/year allowing Arup to supply zero carbon electricity to all 15 of its offices across the UK, based on the firm’s current energy usage.
Discussing the project, Nigel Tonks, Arup’s UKIMEA Sustainable Development Director, said, “As well as taking responsibility for reducing their carbon emissions, companies can encourage the renewable energy market by securing low carbon renewable energy supplies. We believe geothermal energy has huge potential to contribute to the UK’s renewable energy sources and that’s why we’ve been investing in geothermal technologies since 2013. This agreement contributes significantly to our efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of our UK operations. We believe this project will stimulate the growth of geothermal plants in the UK.”
