Geothermal Energy: Clackmannanshire — House of Commons, 2018-06-04
Topic: Energy
Luke Patrick Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): I would not dare to claim to know more than my hon. Friend about his constituency, but I would say that a key part of the industrial strategy is to have more regional facilities and smaller-scale projects, and I am hoping to advocate doing so tonight As I was saying, for comparison, the carbon footprint estimate for an oil boiler is 310 to 550g CO2eq/kWh or—for those who do not know—grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated. For gas boilers, the figure is 210 to 380, for biomass boilers it is somewhere between 5 and 200, although typically they are below 100, while the carbon footprint range for a solar thermal system is 10 to 35 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated. By comparison, the figure for geothermal is only 10. As a result, geothermal energy systems are becoming an increasingly popular low-carbon energy system of choice Yet geothermal energy is barely utilised in the United Kingdom. In a Westminster Hall debate on clean growth energy back in March, there was a great deal of enthusiastic support among the small number of Members present. Those who spoke in support of geothermal energy in that debate came from areas where it already exists, or at least where it is being planned. I do not consider it a coincidence that where geothermal energy has already been explored and exploited, there was support and enthusiasm for it. It evidently works, and indeed, we should take note of the enthusiasm expressed in that debate. It is a clean energy source, with the potential to bring jobs and investment to our constituencies, and given the UK’s long history of mining, I refuse to believe that only Clackmannanshire has the potential for geothermal energy to be developed. There was of course one person in that Westminster Hall debate who enthusiastically supported the development of geothermal energy in the United Kingdom—the Minister responding this evening The UK has a target that, by 2020, 15% of its energy will be met by renewables. In 2008, renewables constituted just 2.25% of energy sources in the UK. By 2014, this had risen to 7.1%, and 8.3% by 2015. I could not find any more recent figures, so I would be grateful to the Minister if she told us how the UK is performing in 2018, and how it expects to meet its target in 2020 Although geothermal is still relatively new to the UK, this type of energy is not a particularly new technology. For example, geothermal heating is used in over 70 countries already, while 24 already use geothermal electrical production systems. Furthermore, five countries—Iceland, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Kenya and the Philippines—generate more than 15% of their electricity from geothermal sources. However, across the whole United Kingdom, I could find only nine geothermal energy projects that are in operation or are being planned. Four are in Cornwall, two are in north-east England, and one—the original—is in Southampton. There are two small mine-water geothermal schemes in operation in Scotland: Shettleston in Glasgow and Lumphinnans in Fife, as well as a forthcoming project in Kilmarnock. To put that in context, the fifth largest economy in the world is being outdone by the 106th, 101st, 76th, 68th, and 39th largest economies respectively in geothermal development and energy production. We still have a way to go. Evidently, we can and should be doing more to invest and develop that clean energy source. In 2013, only 900 jobs in the UK were supported by geothermal energy—500 were directly supported, and 400 indirectly. Given the potential for the expansion of that technology in the UK, there is a great deal of potential for the jobs market, both directly and indirectly. High-quality, skilled jobs would be supported by the development of the sector Here is the crux of the debate—why Clackmannanshire? Development of geothermal in the UK, as I have said, has been relatively limited so far, largely due to the availability of cheap North sea oil and gas. Geothermal energy is plentiful beneath the United Kingdom but, admittedly, it is not readily accessible, except in specific locations. One such location is Clackmannanshire. Abandoned coal mines in Clackmannanshire could become a source of energy, as the water that has poured into the mines since they closed has been warmed up by the rock surrounding it. It is hot enough to be used for a low-temperature heating system through a heat exchanger, with more potential for it to be used for energy production.