Food processing facilities and greenhouses to grow fruit, salad and vegetablescould be powered by “hot rocks” underneath the Eden Project if plans to create one of the UK’s only geothermal plants get the green light.
The Cornish visitor attraction is bidding for part of a £12 million EU fund awarded to Cornwall, after it said the government had turned down requests to match-fund the £37m project.
It would reportedly take three years to build the plant, but it is claimed that it would generate enough clean heat and electricity to power the site, as well as 4,000 homes via the national grid.
Energy would be generated by pumping heated water up from granite hot rocks three miles underground through 25cm-wide bore holes. The only significant geothermal plant in the UK at present is in Southampton, according to The Guardian.
Other businesses under consideration at the site include a medical centre to treat patients with skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, a laundry service for local hotels, cloud computing servers, food processing facilities and greenhouses to grow fruit, salad and vegetables.
Augusta Grand, head of policy at the Eden project, told The Guardian: “The government has clearly understood the benefits of geothermal power but we would contest that, because we have our own volcanoes, it would be more sensible to support the genesis of an industry over here especially when you’re talking about a cable under some of the worst sea in the world.”
Planning permission for the Eden Project plant was granted several years ago, but the project has suffered financial setbacks since the recession.
Grand added: “The UK has an enormous legacy of drilling industries. Given the fact that the North Sea oil and gas is now running out the government is missing an enormous trick in not perceiving that this would be a good follow-on and a great opportunity for our oil and gas industries to look at an industry that they would really understand. It’s incredibly important for the UK to have a secure energy future.”
A second geothermal project in Redruth in Cornwall has received planning permission and is also bidding for funds.
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