Geothermal Energy Heats Excitement In United Kingdom

Though its landscape is breathtaking, the United Kingdom is not known for weather

consistent enough to rely on certain types of renewable energy such as solar and wind power. Geothermal energy, however, is a renewable energy that does not rely on the suns warming rays or a stiff breeze to generate power. The ground under our feet, in the United Kingdom and everywhere else in the world, is naturally heated. Friction caused by scraping and colliding tectonic plates, molten rock flowing below the crust, and the pressure caused by Earths gravity all combine to make a reliable and dependable renewable energy source able to power and heat homes and businesses.

Much like other forms of renewable energy, research into geothermal energy in the UK received a boost in the wake of the oil crisis in the early and mid-1970s. Many regions of the country were pinpointed as potential providers of abundant geothermal energy, but interest waned as petroleum prices fell. The city of Southampton was not to be deterred. Located 100 km southwest of London, Southampton is major port city on the south coast of England. Already interested in wind power, the citys government decided to continue development of geothermal energy technology even after the oil crisis ended. Driven by the desire to be a self-sustaining city, Southampton was one of the first locations in the United Kingdom to focus on geothermal energy. Unfortunately, the Department of Energy refused funding to the program, so city council turned to Utilicom Limited, a French company, to found the Southampton Geothermal Heating Company. The geothermal program, begun by the company with the construction of a geothermal well in 1987, now heats a number of buildings in the town center and continues to expand.

Geothermal energy in the United Kingdom was given a boost recently with the discovery of an incredibly permeable granite in the valley of Weardale. Granites usual impermeability regularly frustrates geothermal energy researchers and developers because heat transfer is rendered nearly impossible. In order to impel useful heat transfer in granite it is often necessary to hydraulically stimulate the rock, a tedious and expensive procedure. The granite found in Weardale is the most permeable of its kind ever recorded, and substantial geothermal energy was produced from it. The discoverers of this granite at the Sir Joseph Swan Institute for Energy Research are certain that this form of granite exists in other areas of the world, not just in the UK.

by: Robert Eckard

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