UK opens first deep geothermal plant in decades

Britain’s first new deep geothermal project in 37 years began pumping out heat Monday, as the country plays catch up with Europe over the renewable energy.

The plant will supply heat to the Eden Project nature attraction in southwest England.

Geothermal is a renewable resource that harnesses heat from deep below the Earth’s crust.

“Geothermal is the sleeping giant of renewables: lying not under our noses, but literally under our feet,” Eden Project co-founder Tim Smit said in a statement.

It added that in Europe, the UK was in 29th place for geothermal installations.

“In the Netherlands, Germany, and France — countries that share our underlying geology — the technology is well developed and supports thousands of jobs.”

The new UK plant is the result of deep drilling into granite.

The longest well under UK soil — with a depth of more than three miles (five kilometres) — will be used to access hot water that can heat the Eden Project and its new state-of-the art nursery, Growing Point.

“Having a nursery on the main Eden Project site means crops can be harvested as required on the day of use and delivered in minutes to food preparation areas, greatly reducing transit distance, time and the need for packaging,” the statement added. (BSS/AFP)