This is Devon -- A concerted push is under way to secure more than £10 million in government funding to develop fledgling geothermal energy schemes in Cornwall.
It comes as one project in West Cornwall stands to lose the £6 million it secured from the Regional Growth Fund because it has been unable to secure private sector match funding because the sector is, as yet, unproven in the UK.
But it is well-established in other parts of Europe, including Germany where is supports around 9,000 jobs.
A study has found that Cornwall has the potential to produce up to 20% of the UK's total energy needs because the granite it sits on could be drilled into to produce heat from deep inside the earth which could then be turned into power.
The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, Cornwall Council and Cornish MPs have already met with Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker to press the county's cause and plan to lobby further when he visits Cornwall next month.
LEP chairman Chris Pomfret said: "In the case of geothermal, we can say we know it works in other countries, we know we can drill holes that deep, we're confident that geologists can track that the heat will be there but if you put it all together there's still some risk and that's what makes it difficult at this point."
The technology, which uses the heat of the Earth's core to generate power, is being pioneered in the Westcountry, with planning permission granted for two projects – one near the Eden Project and one at United Downs, near Redruth.
The idea is to ask for government funding to carry out test drills at both sites to prove that it is possible to produce the energy, thereby making the schemes more likely to attract private sector investment.
Ryan Law, managing director of Geothermal Engineering, the firm behind the United Downs scheme, said he "would not be surprised" if the £40 million project lost its RGF allocation.
He said the scheme was on hold until the Government gave some indication of how it wanted the sector to develop.
"The sector is at a fairly early stage and it is difficult to persuade private sector investors, even high risk investors, to put their money into a project which has not been proved," he said.
"This has the potential to be a big industry for the UK and for Cornwall. I think that, given what's happening in Germany where it supports 9,000 jobs, we're missing an opportunity here. I think the problem at the moment is that ministers think that because no one is doing it in the UK that it's not possible.
"We have to make people see beyond this that it is fairly common in Europe. Unless we do something we will miss out on what is an opportunity, which would be a terrible shame."
Whilst acknowledging that the sector had some way to go to attract substantial government funding, Dr Law said he was confident that it was on the radar of ministers who would seek to support it in some way. Reported by This is 2 hours ago.
It comes as one project in West Cornwall stands to lose the £6 million it secured from the Regional Growth Fund because it has been unable to secure private sector match funding because the sector is, as yet, unproven in the UK.
But it is well-established in other parts of Europe, including Germany where is supports around 9,000 jobs.
A study has found that Cornwall has the potential to produce up to 20% of the UK's total energy needs because the granite it sits on could be drilled into to produce heat from deep inside the earth which could then be turned into power.
The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, Cornwall Council and Cornish MPs have already met with Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker to press the county's cause and plan to lobby further when he visits Cornwall next month.
LEP chairman Chris Pomfret said: "In the case of geothermal, we can say we know it works in other countries, we know we can drill holes that deep, we're confident that geologists can track that the heat will be there but if you put it all together there's still some risk and that's what makes it difficult at this point."
The technology, which uses the heat of the Earth's core to generate power, is being pioneered in the Westcountry, with planning permission granted for two projects – one near the Eden Project and one at United Downs, near Redruth.
The idea is to ask for government funding to carry out test drills at both sites to prove that it is possible to produce the energy, thereby making the schemes more likely to attract private sector investment.
Ryan Law, managing director of Geothermal Engineering, the firm behind the United Downs scheme, said he "would not be surprised" if the £40 million project lost its RGF allocation.
He said the scheme was on hold until the Government gave some indication of how it wanted the sector to develop.
"The sector is at a fairly early stage and it is difficult to persuade private sector investors, even high risk investors, to put their money into a project which has not been proved," he said.
"This has the potential to be a big industry for the UK and for Cornwall. I think that, given what's happening in Germany where it supports 9,000 jobs, we're missing an opportunity here. I think the problem at the moment is that ministers think that because no one is doing it in the UK that it's not possible.
"We have to make people see beyond this that it is fairly common in Europe. Unless we do something we will miss out on what is an opportunity, which would be a terrible shame."
Whilst acknowledging that the sector had some way to go to attract substantial government funding, Dr Law said he was confident that it was on the radar of ministers who would seek to support it in some way. Reported by This is 2 hours ago.