NEWS

17 December 2021

• Cabinet minister Brandon Lewis promises to highlight deep geothermal’s “exciting” potential to government ministers at Westminster.
• He visited geothermal development specialists CeraPhi Energy to discover how green deep geothermal energy could heat and power the UK to reach net zero targets.
• The team called for similar recognition for geothermal as offshore wind to bring to the “clean and almost everlasting energy source” to market.

Pioneering work by a Norfolk-based business re-using old oil and gas wells to draw up deep underground heat as a commercial scale green energy solution will be highlighted in Westminter.
Brandon Lewis, MP for Great Yarmouth and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, visited fast-growing geothermal energy experts CeraPhi Energy to hear about its patented technology and potential for non-weather dependent geothermal alongside wind and solar power to meet net zero targets.
After meeting the Great Yarmouth-based team, he said: “The concept and potential of geothermal energy is exciting and look forward to highlighting them to my ministerial colleagues.”
CeraPhi Energy announced yesterday that it has entered into a Heads of Terms Agreement with UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) to develop the deep geothermal GeoHub at UKOG’s Horse Hill site in Surrey.
It is also working with Third Energy and IGas on UK projects as well as internationally.
CeraPhi Energy chief operating officer Gary Williams, and Karl Farrow, chief executive officer, briefed Mr Lewis about the potential of deep geothermal to provide baseload heat for district heating networks and greenhouse horticulture developments as well as creating electrical power to the National Grid.
“The support of senior ministers is essential to help gain the appropriate recognition by the Government for this new approach to solving the global problem we are all facing,” Mr Williams said.
“Much as how offshore wind became established, the huge potential of deep geothermal needs similar recognition to bring this much needed clean and almost everlasting energy source to market and help achieve the challenging Net Zero targets.

“Here at the CeraPhi team, we are working hard to bring the first projects to fruition and to demonstrate that our approach to this, works. Supporters and backers from around the world are working with us to make this happen, and when it does, we will create work and jobs for the region and elsewhere.”
CeraPhi, which has offices in London, Houston and Cornwall, started last year with founders bringing decades of global oil and gas experience to a new approach to renewable energy.

Mr Lewis returned to Westminster with an extensive report about the benefits and opportunities of deep geothermal and a ministerial briefing by CeraPhi and the Geothermal Energy Advancement Association (GEAA).