Companies looking at generating energy from underground heat can bid for £1m worth of government funding from today.
It is thought that harnessing the natural heat found kilometers underground could take some of the pressure off of our existing over stretched energy resources and potentially stave off the need to import power. Thus, the Deep Geothermal Energy Fund is being offered by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to help find viable sites for the practice.
Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne is Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. “Deep geothermal energy is a real hot prospect as we dig deeper for new technologies that cut carbon emissions and provide home-grown power,” he said.
“Geothermal power from the South West alone could provide up to two per cent of the UK’s electricity needs. Offering this funding will give UK-based innovators a chance to get their projects off the ground and into our energy mix.”
The closing date for bids for the will be Friday 29 October 2010 with the successful bids announced shortly after that.
