Council looking into Geothermal Energy

Council in talks with investors over geothermal energy

Cheshire East Council is in discussions with potential partners to develop a geothermal heat network that could produce almost limitless energy.

A deep geothermal heat network would initially require about £37m from private sector investment, revenue from heat sales and renewable heat incentive funding.

Financial investors and companies in the utility market are interested in the plans for geothermal at Leighton West in Crewe, which has been identified as an ideal site for drilling down 4.5 km to bring hot water to the surface.

The Council has also secured a government grant to assess other renewable energy projects which could cut bills for people living in Crewe and in rural areas.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is contributing £56,000 towards a feasibility study into a district heating network in Crewe town centre.

The funding will also cover detailed mapping of heat demand and masterplanning to encourage the use of renewables in rural areas not connected to the gas grid.

In urban areas, district heating allows homes and businesses to be connected to a single source of heating (and potentially cooling) to achieve efficiency savings and cost reductions.

These networks can use a wide range of fuels and increasingly draw on low carbon sources such as biomass, geothermal and solar energy.

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