Geothermal power to take off in the UK?

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Posted By:

Ann Noon

UK’s first geothermal electricity power station to launch investment bond through Ashden Award winner Abundance

Winner of the 2014 Impax Ashden Award for Energy Innovation, Abundance – the UK’s leading ethical peer-to-peer finance platform – is launching an opportunity to invest* directly in the creation of the first commercial geothermal electricity power station in the UK.

A 2012 study by SKM estimated that geothermal energy – which captures the heat held in rocks far beneath the  earth’s surface – has the potential to meet up to 20% of UK electricity needs, with zero carbon emissions and providing a constant supply.

Abundance’s United Downs Geothermal bond is seeking to raise up to £5 million to assist with the construction of the plant near Redruth in Cornwall. The project has recently been awarded a £10.6 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund and £2.4 million of public funding from Cornwall County Council.

According to Bruce Davis, Abundance’s co-founder and Managing Director: “Geothermal technology is proven to work in Italy and Iceland but hasn’t so far been used in the UK to generate electricity. This is a ground breaking project, which is backed by EU grants and the Local Authority, and offers a chance for ordinary people to take a stake in something with the potential to deliver significant carbon reductions in the future.”

The geothermal plant will have a target capacity of 3 MW of constant power, enough to supply 5,500 typical homes each year, from 2 deep wells with an average diameter of approximately 20 cm, and with a generation plant the size of an average house.

For more information, please visit:

https://www.abundanceinvestmen..

*Capital at risk

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