The U.K. could be producing electricity from a geothermal plant for the first time early next decade after drilling at a site in southwest England showed it could become a viable part of the renewable energy mix.
Initial tests by Geothermal Engineering Ltd. at the 5.1 kilometer (3.2 mile) deep well suggest that the United Downs project in Redruth, Cornwall is capable of producing power, the company said. Once fully operational, it could supply as much as 3 megawatts of electricity.
Tests will continue at the site until the end of the first quarter in 2020 with construction scheduled to begin thereafter, GEL said. The well is the deepest ever drilled and hottest recorded in the U.K. with temperatures of 195 degrees Celsius (383 degrees Fahrenheit).