| Abstract |
Recent uncertainty in the supply of energy and the effect of global warming raised a call for a review of the potential of geothermal energy in the US. A study was commissioned by the US DoE via Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The study concluded that if Enhanced Geothermal System technology was pursued seriously then it was anticipated that something like 11,000GWe could be generated by 2050. Similarly, in 1986 an assessment was carried out by the Camborne School of Mines which indicated that a mature Engineered Geothermal System (EGS) technology could supply around 10% of the electricity demand in the UK for around 200 years. Both of these assessments show that there is a vast energy resource which can supply base load 24 hours a day continuously with virtually no effect on the environment. The concept of EGS itself is very simple but the development of the associated technology has taken longer than anticipated. Following the technological success at the European project in Soultz, France, and a commercially funded EGS plant in Landau, Germany, it was just a matter of time before the UK participated in the exploitation of this technology. In the 80’s the UK helped to pioneer the development of this technology by establishing ground rules for the migration of fluid in specific stress conditions, which are fundamental to the development of this technology. An International Conference on EGS (Hot Dry Rock) was organized in 1989 and the proceedings were published to highlight the resource available in the UK and the progress made to date on this technology, Baria, R. (1990). In view of the large resource in the UK and the current state of the technology, a company has been established to exploit the EGS potential in the South West of England. The first phase is a background study to identity a favorable resource area and to develop a work plan to exploit it. The company, EGS Energy Ltd, includes BESTEC GmbH and altcom Limited as partners, thus reinforcing the technological and management potential of the company. |