Misplaced Pages

#985014

53-403: The Camborne School of Mines led Cornish Hot Dry Rocks (HDR) project, undertaken in the 1980s at Rosemanowes Quarry , was designed to test the theory of inducing a fracture network within granite to create a geothermal reservoir. Geothermal Engineering was founded in 2008 to specialise in the development of geothermal resources. Project funding was secured over the following five years from

106-404: A Leica/DMT Gyromat 2000 Precision Gyrotheodolite , and a triaxial test rig. Field Station In May 2017 CSM lost the use of its underground field station near Camborne due to the site being sold to a 3rd party, putting an end to blast vibration/underground mining research carried out there and annual student mining induction courses that had been carried out there since the 1960s, when the site

159-489: A broad range of the community via public visits to the GEL site, external presentations to interested groups, exhibitions at public events, printed flyers, online resources and through the wider media. An inclusive and interactive education programme and careers events have also been run by GEL to give an insight into Cornwall's new and growing geothermal power and heat industry to students throughout Cornwall. GEL also established

212-633: A clear regulatory framework hinder broader adoption. With better policy, the UK could establish up to 360 plants by 2050, reducing carbon emissions and providing jobs. Ancient legend credited the early Celtic kings with the discovery of the thermal springs at the Roman Baths in Aquae Sulis (modern city of Bath ) which then fell into disrepair during the Dark Ages and were not rediscovered until

265-576: A district heating network powered by geothermal energy. This will provide heating, in the form of hot water, to local customers. Work started in 2017 and the first customers will be connected in early 2019. Another area with great potential for geothermal energy is in the North Sea , on the continental shelf where the Earth's crust is thin (less than 10 km [6.2 miles]). The offshore platforms extract hydrocarbons from this region, but each year

318-538: A former teaching facility of CSM. The CSM teams train at King Edward Mine and expect to host the next games there in 2025. The Camborne School of Mines Association serves all former students of the school and was founded in 1896. It has approximately 1,000 members. CSM is an internationally recognised centre for research related to the formation, discovery, extraction and utilisation of the Earth's natural resources, and subsequent remediation. The applied nature of much of

371-665: A number of buildings in the city centre , including the Southampton Civic Centre , the WestQuay shopping centre , Royal South Hants Hospital , Solent University and the Carnival offices ; and is part of an enlarged city centre district heating system that includes other combined heating, cooling and power sources. As of 2011 the district heating and cooling scheme provides annually 26   °CGWh of electricity and over 40   °CGWh of heat. Brine from

424-464: A number of different ways. This heat can be utilised by ground source heat pumps that can substantially reduce heating bills and reduce the associated carbon footprint. The heat from the sun is conducted downwards into the ground. At a depth of about 15   m, ground temperatures are not influenced by seasonal air temperature changes and tend to remain stable all year around at about the mean annual air temperature (9 to 13 °C (48 to 55 °F) in

477-556: A resource centre for geology teaching throughout Cornwall, and is extensively used by the school's teaching. Displays in CSM's entrance foyer are open to visitors, free, Monday to Friday, 0900–1700. The museum also contains historic artefacts relating to the history of mining and CSM's role within this history; this collection is complemented by the King Edward Mine Museum. Some of the museum's collections are available on

530-509: A significant community fund, supporting sustainable and community-led projects in four local parishes with a shared grant of £40,000. This ensured that the local economy, people and environment benefitted as widely as possible from the project. Geothermal power in the United Kingdom Camborne School of Mines Camborne School of Mines ( Cornish : Scoll Balow Cambron ), commonly abbreviated to CSM ,

583-508: A strong presence in the global mining industry. As of 2023, undergraduate degrees available included a BEng degree in mining engineering (the only one offered in the UK), and BSc programmes in applied geology, and in engineering geology and geotechnics . The postgraduate MSc degrees included applied geotechnics , minerals engineering, mining engineering, mining geology , and surveying and land/ environmental management . In 2003, CSM joined

SECTION 10

#1732797668986

636-582: A surplus, enough for about 3,500 houses, going into the National Grid. The Deep Geothermal Challenge Fund of the Department of Energy and Climate Change has provided more than £4.5   million in grants to support the following projects: Power projects Heat-only projects In early 2013, the government pulled a multimillion-pound grant from Geothermal Engineering Ltd for the £50   million United Downs Deep Geothermal Power project, after

689-522: A well in the Wessex Basin in 1981, it was deemed too small to be commercially viable. The project was abandoned by the Department of Energy, but Southampton City Council refused to let the project fall and took the decision to create the UK's first geothermal power scheme. This was undertaken as part of a plan to become a 'self sustaining city' in energy generation , promoted by then leader of

742-618: A £1.5 million microbeam analytical facility that contains an extensive range of sample preparation and analytical facilities including optical microscopes , cathodoluminescence , low-vacuum scanning electron microscope , electron probe microanalyser, QEMSCAN (particle analysis and mineral identification), X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, atomic absorption spectrometers, atomic fluorescence spectrometer plus elemental, physical and thermal analysers. Facilities for mining engineering, tunnelling, surveying and geotechnics include surface testing facilities; Leica surveying equipment,

795-556: Is at Southampton, where an 1,800 m (5,900 ft) borehole taps into the edge of the aquifer under Wessex and provides heat to the Southampton District Energy Scheme . The borehole is being refurbished. In 2008, a planning application was submitted for a hot rocks project on the site of a former cement works at Eastgate , near Stanhope in County Durham . The geothermal plant will heat

848-675: The Council for National Academic Awards . Notable Associates include Lord Eurby D.S.O., M.C. (born 1883) and Sam E. Jonah ( KBE ) (ACSM), chief executive of Ashanti Goldfields. The CSM student body is a community within the larger student body of the Combined Universities in Cornwall which includes students from both Falmouth University and University of Exeter Cornwall Campus . The CSM student association organises social events and helps students with any issues. Sport within

901-581: The Eastgate Renewable Energy Village , the UK's first geothermal energy model village . However this was shelved in 2010. In 2010 planning permission for a commercial-scale geothermal power plant was granted by Cornwall Council . The plant will be constructed on the United Downs industrial estate near Redruth by Geothermal Engineering. The plant will produce 3   MW of renewable electricity. Drilling commenced at

954-546: The Renewable Energy Association prepared by the engineering consultants Sinclair Knight Merz in 2012 identified the following key findings: On 30 May 2012, the UK government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Icelandic government on a number of energy issues, including supporting the development of deep geothermal energy in the UK. The REA published a new report in 2023 reporting on

1007-639: The University of Exeter are eligible for additional awards made by the Senate of the University of Exeter on behalf of the Camborne School of Mines Trust. These awards are: The ACSM and MCSM are two of the few associate awards within the mining and other earth-based industries. The ACSM has been awarded to all graduates of CSM with the required grades since 1910, and in 1974 it was accredited by

1060-483: The heat flow at United Downs is approximately double the UK average at 120   mWm, and geothermal gradient is around 33-35 °C/km, almost 10 °C/km hotter than large parts of the UK. Cornwall is also divided by a number of faults and fracture zones with a preferred orientation of NNW-SSE or ENE-WSW, believed to have been reactivated by post-orogenic extension after the Variscan Orogeny , with

1113-460: The hydrology within the fractured geothermal reservoir. In addition, in July 2021, full reservoir testing (simultaneous production and injection) was undertaken for seven days. During this process, the reservoir was destressed to prevent microseismic events occurring during long term operation. GEL adhered to a strict monitoring, management and mitigation procedure to ensure that any induced seismicity

SECTION 20

#1732797668986

1166-612: The 18th century, along with the springs at Buxton in the Peak District . The geothermal potential of the UK was investigated by a program funded by the UK government and the European Commission that ran from 1977 until 1994, and saw a Hot Dry Rock experiment drilled in Carnmenellis granite of Cornwall. The project, which was never intended to produce electricity, was a rock mechanics experiment to research

1219-464: The 19th century when with new deposits found around the world CSM graduates began to seek employment overseas and by the 20th century, graduates were in most of the world's major mining areas such as Southern Africa, Western Africa, Malaysia, Australia, South America, Mexico, United States and Canada. Through CSM's teaching, research and the CSM Association's (CSM alumni) network CSM maintains

1272-555: The Camborne School of Mines Virtual Museum, which is a site dedicated to the geology of Cornwall. Geothermal power in the United Kingdom The potential for exploiting geothermal energy in the United Kingdom on a commercial basis was initially examined by the Department of Energy in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis . Several regions of the country were identified, but interest in developing them

1325-593: The ENE-striking fractures hosting magmatic mineral lodes and ‘elvans’ that were mined throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. NNW-SSE striking ' crosscourse ' faults, which are often long and show evidence of significant displacement, are aligned parallel to the regional maximum horizontal stress and therefore are believed to be the most ‘open’ structures, providing enhanced permeability. The United Downs wells encountered three main lithologies: The wells also intersected open NW-SE-striking fracture corridors related to

1378-557: The European Regional Development Fund, Cornwall Council and private investors. GEL drilled two wells into the Porthtowan fault zone between November 2018 and June 2019. The geothermal production well reached a depth of 5,275 m (17,306 ft) and the fluid injection well 2,393 m (7,851 ft). Between August 2020 and July 2021, the wells underwent a series of injection tests to analyse

1431-563: The Federation of European Mineral Programs (FEMP), allowing its students to participate in study in continental Europe. The Camborne School of Mines Trust, industrial sponsors, and past students and staff help Camborne School of Mines to offer between 15 and 20 scholarships each year to new students who register on CSM degree programmes. Selection is based primarily on academic achievement. Candidates successfully completing programmes of study in Camborne School of Mines leading to degrees of

1484-429: The UK has been limited, partly due to the lack of high enthalpy resources, but also due to the availability of cheap fossil fuels. However, when comparisons are made to countries in a similar tectonic setting, it is clear that the UK is underutilising this potential resource. The lack of geothermal development has largely been a result of the availability of North Sea natural gas during the 1980s and 1990s. Interest in

1537-657: The UK is 26 °C, 47 °F per kilometre (42 °C, 76 °F per mile) depth. There is no deep geothermal power generation in the UK. The granite regions of South West England, the Lake District and Weardale and the Eastern Highlands of Scotland are considered most likely to have the best prospects for power generation. In addition to using geothermally heated aquifers, Hot-Dry-Rock geothermal technology can be used to heat water pumped below ground onto geothermally heated rock. Starting in 1977, trials of

1590-502: The UK). Hence, the ground at this depth is cooler than the air in summer and warmer than the air in winter. This temperature difference is exploited by ground source heat pumps that are used for heating and/or cooling of homes and office buildings. Groundwater in Permo-Triassic sandstones in the UK has the potential to provide an exploitable geothermal resource at depths of between 1 and 3 km (0.62 and 1.86 miles). Since 1979

1643-668: The United Kingdom, though underutilised, has significant potential. The country's geothermal resources could theoretically meet all of its heating demand for the next century. Recent developments, particularly in Cornwall such as the Eden Project and the Langarth Garden Village , include geothermal heating plants and power projects, with plans to generate 12 MW of electricity by 2027. However, challenges such as lack of government support, financial incentives, and

United Downs Deep Geothermal Power - Misplaced Pages Continue

1696-476: The basins of principal interest are East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, Wessex, Worcester, Cheshire, West Lancashire, Carlisle, and basins in Northern Ireland. In addition, some of these basins are in areas of elevated heat flow, or are overlain by less thermally conductive strata, providing in effect an insulating layer. The following table lists the primary UK Geothermal aquifer resources for areas where

1749-569: The city council Alan Whitehead . The scheme was eventually developed in conjunction with French-owned company COFELY District Energy and the Southampton Geothermal Heating Company was then established. Construction started in 1987 on a well to draw water from the Wessex Basin aquifer at a depth of 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and a temperature of 76 °C (169 °F). The scheme now heats

1802-513: The company failed to secure the necessary additional investment to meet the terms of the grant. By 2016, the company had managed to secure £30   million funding for the project from a combination of the European Regional Development Fund , Cornwall Council and private investors, thus financing the UK's first commercial hot rocks power scheme. In 2019, the company had finished drilling the two geothermal wells;

1855-568: The company received another £15   million in private funding. The geothermal system employed to generate power at United Downs targeted a radiogenic granite batholith that exhibited enhanced permeability due to its intersection with the Porthtowan fault zone . The Cornubian granite batholith stretches from Dartmoor to the Isles of Scilly and contains a high concentration of heat-producing isotopes such as thorium (Th), uranium (U) and potassium (K). This natural heat production means that

1908-462: The deepest geothermal well drilled for nearly 30   years. built on the former Tyne Brewery in the city. The temperature profile of 3.9 °C (7.0 °F) per 100   m is higher than that found in Weardale. The project failed as flow rates of hot water from the borehole were not great enough to be exploitable, leaving the development to be heated by conventional sources. A report for

1961-602: The degrees of MPhil and PhD. Work is funded by the research councils, industry and charitable trusts and is supported by the school's technical staff and analytical facilities. The facilities and services at CSM are available to students, academic staff, research partners, and individuals and organisations from the business community. Short Courses and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) include Renewable Energy Industry Training Modules, and Quarry Shotfiring / Explosives Supervisor courses (EPIC-validated). The school's geochemical and mineralogical analytical laboratories include

2014-481: The geothermal energy resources of the UK rose again in the 2000s, as a potential way of addressing some of the UK's "energy gap" There is what may be mistakenly known as geothermal energy at shallow depths but it is technically solar energy; the upper 10 to 15 m (33 to 49 ft) of ground is heated by solar radiation and not (except in rare exceptions) geothermal energy. This acts a heat store and can be exploited in

2067-481: The geothermal well provided 18% of the total district heating mix, with fuel oil (10%) and natural gas (70%) making up the rest. The electricity generated from the scheme is used by Associated British Ports via a private electrical connection to the Port of Southampton , with any surplus electricity sold back to the grid . In 2014, Stoke-on-Trent City Council announced plans for a £52   million project to create

2120-554: The hydraulic stimulation of fracture networks at temperatures below 100 °C (212 °F). Three wells were drilled to a total vertical depth of 2.6 km (1.6 miles) where the bottom-hole temperature was around 100   °C. In 1994, the Hot Dry Rock project was closed, and research effort was transferred to the European Geothermal Project at Soultz-sous-Forêts . Geothermal energy development in

2173-576: The major 'crosscourse' of the Porthtowan Fault Zone. GEL's community engagement programme has been extremely important for the successful continuation of the United Downs geothermal project. From an early stage it was established that time, effort and a personal approach were crucial to finding the extent of the community and reaching a diverse range of its members. As a result, accurate, up-to-date information has been communicated to

United Downs Deep Geothermal Power - Misplaced Pages Continue

2226-450: The nature, current status, future potential, and challenges for the development of geothermal energy infrastructure in the United Kingdom. The report set out the following conclusions: In summary, while the potential for geothermal energy in the UK is considerable, especially for heating, it remains underdeveloped due to policy and regulatory challenges. Addressing these issues could help the country capitalise on its geothermal resources for

2279-429: The output falls by 5% and soon it will be uneconomic to continue using these platforms for fossil fuel extraction. An alternate use could be geothermal power generation. A 1986 work on this was undertaken by Total Energy Conservation and Management Co. Ltd . An overview document was produced called "Single Borehole Geothermal Energy Extraction System for Electrical Power Generation". The average geothermal gradient in

2332-399: The production well to a depth of 5,275 m (17,306 ft) and the injection well to 2,393 m (7,851 ft). The hot water reaches 250 °C (482 °F), and can yield around 60   MW of heat and 10   MW electrical energy. In 2021, the power plant is expected to be commissioned. Newcastle University Science Central Borehole Project, at 1,800 m (5,900 ft) is

2385-549: The research is indicated by significant international industrial collaboration. Research within CSM is co-ordinated by the three multidisciplinary groups. These draw upon the school's research expertise in mining and minerals engineering, geology, renewable energy and environmental science , and their links with colleagues in the University of Exeter's Department of Geography. Each group is led by full-time academic staff, and includes postdoctoral research fellows, experimental officers and postgraduate research students working towards

2438-492: The school is strong and there are team sports run under the CSM name in local leagues, but are open to any students at Tremough. A key event in the school's sporting calendar is the annual Bottle Match against Royal School of Mines which is organised by the student association. Each year students take part in the International Mining Games. In 2012 and 2018 CSM hosted the games, at King Edward Mine ,

2491-537: The site in November 2018. In December 2010, the Eden Project in Cornwall was given permission to build a Hot Rock Geothermal Plant. Drilling was planned to start in 2011, but as of May 2018, funding is still being sought. The plant will be on the north side of the Eden Project, a showcase for environmental projects at Bodelva, near St Austell. It should produce 3-4   MW of electricity for use by Eden with

2544-480: The technology were undertaken at Rosemanowes Quarry , near Penryn , Cornwall . Heat-only projects are generally considered to have the greatest potential in the UK because the resource is more widespread and shallower. This includes the hot aquifers (i.e. subterranean bodies of water) in the North East, Wessex, Cheshire, and Northern Ireland. The UK's only existing geothermal heat-generating station (heat only)

2597-499: The temperature is greater than 40 °C and the transmissivity is greater than 10 Dm, except as indicated: Transmissivity ≥5 Dm In part of area transmissivity 5 to 10 Dm Note: 1 exa-joule=10 joules In the 1980s, the United Kingdom Department of Energy undertook a research and development programme to examine the potential of geothermal aquifers in the UK. However, after some initial success drilling

2650-700: Was founded in 1888. Its research and teaching is related to the understanding and management of the Earth's natural processes, resources and the environment. It has undergraduate, postgraduate and research degree programmes within the Earth resources, civil engineering and environmental sectors. CSM is located at the Penryn Campus , near Falmouth, Cornwall , UK. The school merged with the University of Exeter in 1993. Camborne School of Mines has an international reputation in mining, tunnelling, mineralogy , mineral economics , geology , geophysics and geochemistry . CSM's international reputation dates back to

2703-403: Was lost as petroleum prices fell. Although the UK is not actively volcanic, a large heat resource is potentially available via shallow geothermal ground source heat pumps , shallow aquifers and deep saline aquifers in the mesozoic basins of the UK. Geothermal energy is plentiful beneath the UK, although it is not readily accessible currently except in specific locations. Geothermal energy in

SECTION 50

#1732797668986

2756-464: Was owned & run by Holman Brothers , Camborne. The museum at CSM is devoted to worldwide geology with particular emphasis on mining and mineralisation. It holds a significant and comprehensive systematic collection including fluorescent, gem and ore minerals, together with suites of minerals and host rocks from important mining areas all over the world, though a significant part of its collection derives from south west England. The collection serves as

2809-496: Was understood by community members. In August 2020, the project's operations were further funded by the UK Getting Building Fund. GEL received a share of £14.3   million to demonstrate that lithium could be produced from geothermal brines. As of 2021, project costs were approximately £30   million. In January 2021, GEL agreed to sell 3   MW of power for ten years to Ecotricity . In March 2023,

#985014