Power Plant

Cornwall has a long history of heavy industry and is proud of its visible mining heritage. Throughout Cornwall, derelict engine houses can be seen inland and on cliff tops from a great distance. The engine houses vary in size, but they tower above the ground with a stack or chimney up to 30m high. A geothermal power plant will be a fraction of this height, can be painted to camouflage the main structures and screened with native trees and shrubs. GEL are keen to ensure power plants do not detract from the existing vista that is peppered with the relics of past industry.

GEL will use binary power plants which emit no steam, gases or smells. It can be difficult to find images of these when searching online as most conventional geothermal plants are associated with volcanic environments, where the water is so hot that a ‘Flash’ power plant is used. GEL will keep the geothermal fluid in a closed loop and reinject it, but many flash plants do not reinject the fluid, instead releasing it as steam from a large cooling tower. This steam may also contain volcanic gases, some of which smell like rotten eggs.

For a good example of a binary geothermal power plant, click here and navigate to the second image to the left, titled “CENTRALE DE GEOTHERMIE PROFONDE DE SOULTZ-SOUSFORETS”. Click on the target symbol below the title and you will see an operational binary power plant at Soultz-sous-Forêts in France.

GEL will always strive to bring benefits to the local communities in both the short and long term. These include:

• A Community Fund of at least £40,000 per site shared between sustainable, cohesive community projects in the local parishes.
• More than £1.5million per project is put directly into the local economy through local business engagement.
• A dedicated community manager will keep the public informed about the project progress and report back on concerns or issues to the GEL team to ensure an open dialogue is maintained.
• An education and careers Programme for schools across Cornwall provides engaging resources and talks as well as careers advice from primary school to university.
• GEL will increase every site’s biodiversity by more than 10%
• Direct and indirect green jobs will be created in Cornwall.

Every geothermal binary power plant will look slightly different as they are designed for the unique geological parameters available at each site. In general, the key features will include:

1. A single-story insulated building which houses the generator and turbine for power generation.
2. A small set of 10m-high air cooled fans; used to recondense the working fluid after the vapour has been used to generate electricity. These fans do not produce any visual plumes of steam or any odour.
3. Pipework connecting the wellheads to the plant.
4. A water storage lagoon which is used during well testing and routine maintenance.
5. Low-level, small-scale substation and transformer for connecting the power station to the grid.

There will be no cooling towers, no electricity pylons, no steam, and no emissions of any kind.

During drilling and testing, an area of approximately 2Hectares is needed to accommodate equipment and welfare units for the crew, but once the power plant is operational, this will reduce to approximately 1Ha. GEL can therefore utilise the additional space to provide green screening around the site as well as re-wilding the remaining area with native species.

While there is a drilling rig on site (estimated 6 – 9 months), it is required to be lit at all times for the safety of the rig crew and potential low-flying aircraft from RNAS Culdrose, Search & Rescue operations or local airports. A lighting management plan will be developed for each site in conjunction with key stakeholders and will follow UK government guidance on reducing light pollution.