Last month saw the launch of the Great South West Partnership’s Agrifood Growth Plan at Westminster, showcasing the region as a national leader in food security, productivity and sustainable Agrifood growth. The Plan sets out a clear, evidence-led strategy to unlock long-term growth across farming, fishing, food manufacturing, and Agrifood technology – sectors critical to the UK’s economic resilience and future food supply.
Geothermal resources have the potential to support the growth of the Agrifood sector, in particular through protected cropping, which the Plan reports remains comparatively small in the South West region currently. Although modest users of electricity, greenhouses have a major demand for heat, which is where geothermal could provide a convenient solution.
The focus of GEL’s projects are on geothermal power and the extraction of lithium, but with “waste heat” available, GEL is exploring the potential to co-locate greenhouses heated with geothermal energy alongside its projects in Cornwall.
The Plan reports that the UK imported over £9.2billion of horticultural products in 2024, which highlights the potential for large-scale growth of the greenhouse industry. Sustainable sources of heat, such as through GEL’s geothermal projects, are expected to play a key role in unlocking this potential.
Read the full report here: https://greatsouthwest.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Great_South_West_Agrifood_Growth_Report.pdf
Image credit: Unsplash -Erwan Hesry
