Eden Geothermal Energy Project

In partnership with EGS Energy and Bestec UK, we've set up a new company – Eden Geothermal Ltd – to build a geothermal plant on the Eden Project site, using the heat from the granite underground.

Once complete, it will produce enough power for Eden Project and around 5–7,000 houses, plus all the heat we need for Eden, and more.

On a site the size of a football pitch close to the main gate, we have begun to drill a single 4.5km well into the rock. This first phase of the geothermal plant will produce enough heat for Eden’s Biomes, offices and nursery greenhouses.  

Its success will pave the way for a second well and electricity plant, so that by 2023 Eden should be exporting enough renewable electricity and heat to wipe out its carbon footprint.

The £16.8m project has been funded by the European Union, Cornwall Council and an institutional investor.  

Did you know?

The 4.5km well will be only 25cm wide – that’s the size of a pizza!

Geothermal energy is the heat in the rock beneath our feet. Worldwide, natural spas have been enjoyed for millennia, and in active volcanic and tectonic areas, like Italy, hot rocks have been producing power for a hundred years.

Advances in engineering mean that lower temperature resources in geologically stable regions are now usable.

When we have completed the second phase, the power plant at the north end of our site would be an 'engineered geothermal system' (EGS). See how they work, below.

• Geothermal power is the only renewable energy resource not affected by the weather; it is 'on' 24 hours a day, with plants typically running over 90% of the time.
• The surface area of the plant is the smallest of any power source, and with buildings no higher than 10m, geothermal energy has a low impact on the landscape.
• Research has shown that geothermal energy could provide up to 20% of the UK's current electricity demand, and a vast amount of heating. At present, there aren’t any geothermal power plants generating electricity in the UK.

Eden Geothermal is being part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Cornwall Council with commercial funding from Gravis Capital Management through GCP Infra. Eden Geothermal is working with a number of delivery partners: Eden Project, EGS Energy, Bestec UK, and the University of Exeter.