A council in Cheshire, UK is seeking to tap into potentially vast reserves of geothermal power beneath the town of Crewe that it hopes could power and heat the region for centuries to come.

 

Cheshire East Council this week voted to carry out a feasibility study into the area's geothermal energy resource, after a report last year identified Crewe as one of six areas in the UK that could deliver significant quantities of geothermal power.

 

The report, by consultancy Sinclair Knight Merz, found Britain's deep geothermal resources could meet a fifth of its electricity demand, providing 9.5GW of base load electricity and over 100GW of heat, with particular hotspots in Cornwall, the North East, and the Lake District.

 

Geothermal power is generated by pumping water into a borehole, which is then heated by the earth's natural warmth and returned to the surface as steam. The steam can then be used directly for heat or to drive a turbine to generate a steady supply of electricity to back up more unpredictable renewable energy sources.