EDEN’s ’clean energy revolution’ is about to begin with the construction of a drilling rig for geothermal energy.

After a 10-year campaign, £16.8 million in funding was secured last October to drill the first well – it will take five months to drill 4.5km down to the hot rocks beneath the surface. While £1.4m was given by Cornwall Council, £9.9m has come from the European Regional Development Fund, with the remainder from private sources.

Drilling was due to start this summer but the project was held up due to the pandemic.

Now neighbours have been informed that work will be starting from Monday (September 21), with the first phase being the building of a hardstanding for the rig, connecting essential services, and putting in some temporary buildings and roadways within the site, which lies on land just inside the main visitor gate.

A viewing area is also being put in place so that visitors can safely watch the project progress from a nearby path.

If successful, the 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.

Completing the second phase will mean that Eden will be generating sufficient renewable energy to become carbon positive during 2023 as well as aiming to be able to provide heat and power for the local area.

To deliver the plan, a new company, Eden Geothermal Limited (EGL) was formed. The three shareholders are Eden Project Limited, EGS Energy Limited, a leading geothermal development and consultancy group with experience on commercial scale projects in Cornwall and around the world, and BESTEC (UK) Limited, a specialist geothermal developer and drilling advisor.

Eden Geothermal Limited is encouraging neighbours and interested parties to keep in touch with progress through their project manager, Max Skerratt and office manager, Claire Judd.

An Eden Geothermal Community Liaison Group, including representatives from local parish councils, has been established and an information event is planned for when the drilling rig has arrived. 

This week also sees the launch of the Eden Geothermal Community Fund, a £20,000 pot to support community environmental projects in four neighbouring parishes. Applications for projects will open in November, and will be open to community groups with constitutional documents.

Augusta Grand, Executive Director of Eden Geothermal Limited, who has led Eden’s geothermal project for the last eight years, said: “Finally to be able to start work on the site is terrific.

 “One of the great things about geothermal is that it is proven to provide baseload heat and power but has a very a small footprint on the land.

“We are looking forward to sharing the progress of the project with neighbours and visitors.  We’ve established the new community fund to encourage other environmental projects.”

There is more information about the geothermal project and frequent updates on the Eden Geothermal Limited website www.edengeothermal.com