Plans laid out for UK's largest commercial geothermal plant

Geothermal power is an energy source with a minimal carbon footprint and produces low or zero emissions by using the earth’s natural heat as a sustainable power source.

Geothermal Engineering has yet to receive planning permission, but is hoping to start drilling in 2010 and be operational by 2013. The proposed plant will supply 10 megawatts (MW) of base load electricity to the National Grid and up to 55 MW of renewable heat for local use.

Wells will be drilled to approximately five kilometres where temperatures are expected to exceed 170 degrees centigrade and water pumped down into the rock where it is naturally heated, before being pumped back to the surface as hot water or steam. The heated water will be used to power turbines to generate electricity and as a source of renewable heat.

Geothermal Engineering is hosting a public exhibition from October 27 and will be asking the local community how they want to utilise their free heat.

Cornwall was chosen for the first geothermal plant as research has proven that the county has a suitable heat resource.

In June, the Eden Project announced it had entered into a partnership arrangement with EGS Energy Limited, a Penzance-based engineered geothermal system energy developer, to establish a geothermal power plant in an old clay quarry at Bodelva, near St Austell in Cornwall to power the visitor attraction and education centre.

Ryan Law, managing director of Geothermal Engineering Ltd, said: "Geothermal energy has been in use for millennia, even in the UK where the Romans used it for bathing. Modern technology allows us to target deeper, hotter geothermal resources to provide a sustainable source of electricity and heat. Our vision is to provide renewable heat and power at minimal environmental cost.

"There is significant potential for geothermal energy to encourage investment into [Cornwall] and re-empower the local community. Unlike wind or wave power, which uses local resources to power the National Grid, the renewable heat generated by the geothermal plant has to be used locally and will therefore have a direct and positive impact on the local economy and community.”

There is currently one working geothermal energy station in the UK – the Southampton District Energy Scheme. The station uses hot water pumped from 1800 metres below ground as part of the city’s district heating network and has operated successfully for over 20 years, saving an estimated 11,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

On a global scale, geothermal power is increasingly being used as an alternative to fossil fuels in countries including America, Germany and Australia, New Zealand and Iceland.

Geothermal Engineering said it hopes to establish Cornwall as a global centre of excellence in geothermal energy.