I have been living in Brighton for five years unaware that “hot rocks” far below my feet could soon warm my home with a clean source of heat.
This Roman Bath-style type of heating system has been detected in 45 areas of the country, including Eastbourne, Middlesbrough, Sheffield and York, which have the greatest potential for deep geothermal energy.
The process, used in abundance in Iceland and which heats 250,000 homes in Paris, typically involves sending water at least 500 metres down boreholes to be heated to around 100C before bringing it back to the surface.
The German government has also committed to spending £860million before 2035 to create 100 geothermal projects.
However, with the exception of a 1986 scheme in Southampton, this low-carbon heating source has been untapped in the UK.
In theory we have enough trapped underground heat to warm every home for 100 years.
Currently 85% of homes in Britain are warmed by gas boilers.
Areas that have been earmarked by the Government as part of its levelling-up agenda – Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough, East Lindsey, Hartlepool, Northumberland and Bassetlaw – are about three times as likely to be rich in this type of untapped energy.
Not only could this provide a clean source of power but a new network of geothermal plants could create 35,000 jobs by 2050 in some of the most deprived parts of the country.
Early steps will see a project in Seaham, County Durham, heat 1,500 new homes from water in mineshafts, alongside a scheme to warm the Eden Project’s biomes in Cornwall.
“I’ll stick my neck out and say that by 2050 I’d hope we’d be well above 20% of homes heated by geothermal,” says Professor Jon Gluyas, an expert in geo-energy at Durham University, who worked on the report.
However, it warns that the industry will not get underway without some financial incentive from the Government.
But if there is a chance to use Mother Earth’s heat to warm our homes, provide jobs and energy security – then it is essential it should become part of our future energy policy.
