Ruth Edwards, MP for Rushcliffe, was on hand for the groundbreaking event for this £1.7 million project. Most of the funding was provided by the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) with a further contribution from the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonization Scheme.
The geothermal heat pump system will allow for the removal of existing gas boilers that are used for the heating of two buildings on the Keyworth site, thus reading the heating bills of BGS and saving about 30 tonnes of CO2 per year.
“I was really honoured to be asked to break ground on the new geothermal heat pump at the British Geological Survey in Keyworth. This is a hugely exciting opportunity to help decarbonise the public sector estate. I’m thrilled that we are trialling the technology here in Rushcliffe and that the data generated by the trial will be used to inform other projects around the country. Many congratulations to all involved!” said Ruth Edrwards, MP for Rushcliffe.
A living laboratory
The proposed geothermal heat pump system will also be a ‘living laboratory’ with the boreholes and buildings outfitted with state-of-the-art sensors. These will measure data to help increase the public’s understanding of ground-source heat pumps and generate a better understanding of the flow of heat and water underground. The geology in Keyworth will make the information gathered at the site transferable to other parts of the UK.
“This exciting project gives us the opportunity to blend our observation of the subsurface with leading low-carbon heating. The disruption to BGS staff will be kept to a minimum, with short closures of a couple of buildings to allow for the installation of heat emitters. The drilling and heat pump installation is due to last around three months. The borehole installation should not impact on Keyworth site operations due to the careful planning and specification involved in the project,” commented Daniel Crow, Head of BGS Estates and Facilities.
The geothermal heat pump system as a laboratory complements the existing efforts of BGS on geothermal research thru the UK Geoenergy Observatories. In mid-2023, the Glasgow Observatory officially completed its construction phase, opening for commercial and academic researchers to conduct a range of experiments on mine water geothermal.
