Cornwall Council has approved a £1.4m grant to Eden-EGS Energy to unlock a new ‘hot rocks’ deep geothermal project at the Eden Project.

Council Leader Adam Paynter said members’ decision to approve the £1.4m grant could be a significant moment for Cornwall’s ambition to become a world leader in renewable energy.

He said the project could ultimately secure Cornwall’s energy supply, potentially reduce energy bills for residents and create more high quality jobs in engineering, research and technology.

The project, proposed by EGS Energy in partnership with Eden, involves drilling a well to gain access to the hot rocks below, creating enough heat and electricity to potentially power the Eden Project and surrounding homes.  

Cornwall Council agreed to provide the £1.4m grant as match funding, subject to the Eden Project achieving funding from other sources.

The project is the second deep geothermal exploration project to receive match funding from the Council since 2016. 

Eden-EGS Energy will join Geothermal Engineering Limited (GEL), which secured funding of £10.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund in 2017 to drill two deep geothermal wells from its site within the United Downs Industrial Estate and build a 1MW pilot power plant to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of supplying electricity initially and potentially heat.

Drilling at United Downs will begin later this year.

The project at United Downs was made possible after a grant of £2.4m by Cornwall Council unlocked a further £5m from private investors to match the European funding. 

Cllr Paynter said: ‘Cornwall is the first in the UK to explore the potential to power our economy from deep geothermal energy, the hot rocks and springs lying deep under Cornwall.

‘This has huge potential not just for Cornwall but for the national economy. Unlike other renewable sources where energy is dependent on the wind or the sun, deep geothermal offers a stable consistent and secure source of energy.’

In the 1970s and 80s the Department of Energy and the European Commission funded the world renowned ‘hot-dry rocks’ research project at Rosemanowes Quarry, near Penryn which evidenced that the granite in the area has the highest heat flow in the UK.

It is also thought that the natural geothermal springs will be rich in Lithium deposits, which has created a surge of interest in Cornwall’s viable Lithium resource.

The extraction and production of lithium in Cornwall would provide the UK with a secure supply of the strategic mineral required for batteries used in electric cars following the ban of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040.