Last week I was in Brussels for the 2nd European Geothermal Summit – turning Megawatts to Gigawatts. It was great to see the momentum for geothermal energy in Europe towards extracting more heat, power and critical minerals from the abundant resource.
Geothermal is getting substantial attention from policy makers right now. In the US, where the technology has been well-backed, there are considerable increases in drilling speeds, costs and well outputs, along with the recent stock market launch of Fervo showing that investor appetite has never been stronger. The technology breakthroughs are unlocking vast geothermal potential. The International Energy Agency has also recently published a report stating that ‘next-generation’ geothermal electricity production can be 60 times more than today’s installed power capacity worldwide, second after only Solar PV for renewable energy.
Cornwall’s Good Growth Plan and Local Area Energy Plan make clear reference to the potential of geothermal. Even Cornwall’s Agri-Food sector has developed a plan which looks at the opportunity for farming to harness geothermal benefits.
Unfortunately the UK hasn’t yet embraced the technology and it is not yet included in the Modern Industrial Strategy, GB Energy remit or National Wealth Fund Investment strategy. Given that the UK led the world on ‘next gen’ geothermal in Cornwall in the 1980s it is now a long way behind on policy, licencing and targets.
Current geopolitical events are highlighting how exposed the UK is on energy and raw materials. Cornwall is leading the way in backing the geothermal industry and mineral production, but the UK government needs to catch up.
