The Eden Project and EGS Energy have secured funding to drill the first well for a geothermal heat and power project in Cornwall, England.
The partners said that the £16.8m comes from a mix of public and private sources will enable them to start drilling on Eden’s site next summer.
Some £9.9m came from the EU’s European Regional Development Fund, with Cornwall Council providing £1.4m and institutional investors the remaining £5.5m.
The money will pay for the first phase of the project – drilling one well, a research programme and a heat main, to prove the extent of the resource 4.5km down in the granite that lies beneath the Eden site.
This first well will initially supply a district heating system for Eden’s Biomes, offices and greenhouses.
It will pave the way for the second phase – another 4.5km well and an electricity plant.
The second phase will mean that Eden will be generating sufficient renewable energy to become carbon positive by 2023, with the aim of also providing heat and power to the local area.
Eden co-founder Sir Tim Smit said: “Since we began, Eden has had a dream that the world should be powered by renewable energy.
“The sun can provide massive solar power and the wind has been harnessed by humankind for thousands of years but because both are intermittent and battery technology cannot yet store all we need there is a gap.
“We believe the answer lies beneath our feet in the heat underground that can be accessed by drilling technology that pumps water towards the centre of the earth and brings it back up superheated to provide us with heat and electricity.
“The missing piece of the jigsaw in a 24/7 clean renewable energy future is this baseload.
“Now we have the green light and the funding to start drilling we are determined to make this technology work. And we want to work with others all over the world – sharing knowledge and encouraging the change as fast as is humanly possible.”
A new company, Eden Geothermal has been formed to deliver the project with shareholders from the Eden Project, EGS Energy and BESTEC UK, a specialist geothermal developer and drilling advisor.
EGS Energy managing director Guy Macpherson-Grant said: “It is exciting that this geothermal development is under way.
“The geology in the county is particularly well-suited for cost-efficient heat and power generation, and St Austell benefits from particularly high heat flows.”
Eden Geothermal director Augusta Grand said: “It is great that we’re now getting going on this project. Geothermal has huge potential to provide baseload heat and power on a very small surface footprint.
“We look forward to being able to demonstrate the advantages of the technology to Eden’s 1 million visitors a year and encourage greater investment.”
Eden Geothermal non-executive chairman Richard Day said: “The support we have received from all our stakeholders will allow us to prove the resource in this part of Cornwall.
“Alongside the other geothermal project in Cornwall at United Downs, we are looking to stimulate a whole new green tech industrial cluster in Cornwall, on the back of the centuries of mining heritage in the county.”
Coastal Communities and Local Growth Minister Jake Berry said: “The Eden Project is not only a must-see tourist attraction bringing visitors from all corners of the globe to Cornwall, but also an innovator at the very forefront of renewable energy development.
“Thanks to £9.9m of government funding, work can begin immediately on this exciting project which will unlock the rich geothermal resource beneath the site and allow the full untapped potential of renewable energy sources to be fully utilised.
“This will be essential in tackling climate change, exploring alternative energy sources and ensuring Cornwall can take full advantage of all the economic opportunities that lie ahead.”