Geothermal power plant ... in Cornwall

WORK on drilling the UK’s deepest holes for the country’s first deep geothermal power plant is beginning in Cornwall.

The £18million project aims to produce clean electricity by pumping water through rocks that reach temperatures of about 190C (374F). Naturally occurring radioactive elements in granite 2.7 miles below the site in St Day will heat the water that will then drive turbines. It is believed two boreholes, which will take six months to drill, will supply power for 3,000 homes.

Dr Ryan Law, managing director of Geothermal Engineering, the firm behind the scheme, said: ‘We hope this will be the start of many across the UK.’