Phase One of the project is telling us more about the deep geothermal resource, enabling us to quantify the potential benefits of a dual-well system. Positive results will pave the way for Phase Two: a second well and a power plant.
The second well will be drilled to a similar depth and will also target the naturally fractured rock of the Great Crosscourse fault. While they’ll be just a few metres apart at surface, the two wells will be deviated to a few hundred metres apart at depth.
The existing cracks and fissures in the target fault will mean it can be used as a giant heat exchanger. Cold water will be sent down one well and will pass through the cracks, picking up heat from the rock, before being pumped back up the second well at about 180°C.
At the surface, a small combined heat and power plant (CHP) will be used to supply heat to Eden’s Biomes, greenhouses and other buildings, with surplus heat to export too. Using a binary cycle turbine, it will also generate enough electricity to meet all of Eden Project’s needs and to supply the equivalent of up to 7,000 homes.
