Geothermal Engineering

What is now just concrete, gravel and weeds growing on a plot in an industrial estate will be transformed into a fully functional geothermal power plant in less than four years’ time. The plant will provide both clean electricity to the National Grid, and, we hope, renewable heat energy to the local area. This will be the UK’s first commercial geothermal plant, following in the footsteps of France, Germany, Iceland and the US. Once geothermal power has the chance to prove itself as a source of constant, clean, cheap energy, there is no reason why we should not continue to develop the UK’s geothermal resource to ensure as many people as possible stand to benefit. As the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said recently in their Pathways report, “there is the geothermal resource to produce the equivalent of up to 35 TWh of electricity per year” in the UK. To put this figure in context, Wales’ annual electricity demand is estimated at between 22 to 24 TWh per year.

So now we have planning permission, what next?

Well, the aim is to begin drilling onsite in early 2011 after we have spent the next few months preparing the site. This will be the drilling of the first well, which will take approximately four months to complete. There will then be a period of approximately eight months of testing before the remaining two wells are drilled. The drilling rig will be removed between the first and subsequent wells. The final site will be very unobtrusive – just a few more units on an industrial estate. The plant will be fully operational by late 2013.

This is an exciting time, not just for us, but for Britain’s scientific community – we will be drilling the deepest on-shore well in the UK. It is the spirit of innovation, exploration, and utilisation that characterises the geothermal industry, and it is a spirit we want to harness for the future