White gold and earthquakes: the surprising price of green energy in the UK

The promise of underground riches is nothing new in the UK county of Cornwall, but now the region is descending to new depths in a bid to exploit the kingdom’s natural resources. The deep geothermal power plant at United Downs will start generating electricity around the clock. According to a report in the British “Telegraph” newspaper, with an output of about three megawatts, which is enough to light about 10,000 homes, the station may not be groundbreaking on its own, but experts believe that it will pave the way for similar projects across the country.

While the UK government has effectively banned hydraulic fracturing that produces vibrations above magnitude 0.5, the geothermal energy industry is not subject to the same restrictions and is regulated based on surface vibrations alone. To calm the frightened residents, the company distributed small seismographs to local schools.

Apart from electricity generation, experts point to huge potential for district heating using geothermal energy across the UK. But in United Downs there is another treasure hidden: lithium, the metal known as “white gold” and used for batteries. The groundwater at the site contains one of the highest concentrations of lithium in Europe. This combination of electricity production and mineral mining without open mining makes the project particularly attractive from an economic point of view.

In addition, as the Telegraph notes, the green project relies heavily on the equipment and expertise of Britain’s long-established oil and gas industry. The transition to geothermal energy may, ironically, provide an occupational lifeline for experts and workers in the polluting industry in the North Sea, just before its closure.