Construction of the UK's first geothermal power plant has begun at a site in Cornwall, it was announced today (Wednesday, January 24.) Based at their flagship site at United Downs, Geothermal Engineering Limited (GEL) say that they expect work on the geothermal power and lithium extraction plants to be completed by summer this year, with the first power production happening by the end of 2024.

The plant at United Downs will be harnessing heat from hot granite rocks beneath Cornwall via two deep wells which were drilled and tested in 2019 and 2020. From this site and other proposed sites in Cornwall, GEL are hoping to produce enough power and heat for 70,000 homes by 2028.

In addition to this, recent testing from GEL revealed that the geothermal fluid within the wells at the United Downs site has one of the highest concentrations of lithium in all of Europe at around 340 parts per million (ppm). As this lithium is contained in geothermal brine, it can be extracted as a zero-carbon by-product, which eliminates the need for carbon-intensive extraction methods that are common in lithium production elsewhere in the world.

"It's a very, very exciting day, today - we are starting the construction of the UK's first geothermal power plant." commented Ryan Law, CEO of Geothermal Engineering Ltd. He added that when the plant is switched on at the end of this year, it will be producing "The UK's first electricity, 24/7, from a geothermal rescource."

Cornwall Council chief executive Kate Kennally and key investors in the project joined the Geothermal Engineering Ltd team for a site visit today, as construction work at United Downs began.