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Eden Project hot rocks drilling gets £16.8m grant

Source: http://www.constructionmanagermagazine.com/news/

The Eden Project in Cornwall has secured funding for a £16.8m project to drill the first well for its “hot rocks” geothermal heat and power project.The £16.8m will pay for the first phase of the project which involves the drilling of one well 4.5km into the granite below the site, a research programme, and a heat main to prove the extent of the resource.This first well will initially supply a district heating system for Eden’s biomes, offices and greenhouses.Provided the first phase is successful, a second phase will then involve a second well and an electricity plant.Completing the second phase will allow the Eden Project to generate enough renewable energy to become carbon positive by 2023, as well as providing heat and power to the local area.Funding has come from mixture of public and private sources. Cornwall’s final round of EU funding, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), has contributed £9.9m. Cornwall Council has put in £1.4m. Institutional investors have contributed the remaining £5.5m.To deliver the plan, a new company, Eden Geothermal Limited (EGL) has been formed. The EGL shareholders are:Eden ProjectGeothermal development and consultancy group EGS EnergyBESTEC (UK), which is affiliated with BESTEC GmbH, the specialist geothermal developer and drilling advisor.