United Kingdom
Contracting Party: Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), United Kingdom
Executive Committee Member: Alison Auld, DECC, United Kingdom
Alternate Member: Jonathan Busby, British Geological Survey, United Kingdom
The exploitation of geothermal resources in the UK remains minimal even when compared with other countries in a similar, non-volcanic, setting. The best EGS prospects for power generation are the radiogenic granites in the southwest and northeast of England. Proven temperatures of 100 °C were measured at a depth of 2.6 km during the UK Hot Dry Rock (HDR) programme in Cornwall and 46.2 °C at a depth of 995 m in the Eastgate borehole drilled into the North Pennine batholith (Weardale granite) in northeast England. Two EGS projects are in development: EGS Energy Limited is developing a 4 MWe deep geothermal energy plant at the Eden Project, St Austell, Cornwall and Geothermal Engineering Limited (GEL) proposes to develop a deep geothermal power project at the United Downs Industrial Estate near Redruth in Cornwall, located a few kilometres from Rosemanowes Quarry.
