Renewable Energy

World-renowned research facilities in the region, combined with a rich marine and mining history, mean Cornwall is now in a leading position to progress the pioneering projects it has started and provide the UK with reliable, secure sources of clean energy, enabling the transition away from fossil fuels.

Floating Offshore Wind

The seas off Cornwall boast one of the best wind resources in the world. The region’s proximity to the Celtic Sea, coupled with its deep knowledge of marine operations and offshore renewables, has led to an ambition to generate clean energy from Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) projects.

Since the inception of FLOW technology, Cornwall has helped forge a now vibrant market in the Celtic Sea and continues to lead in its development and delivery across the wider region.

The first 4GW of FLOW to be deployed by 2035 represents enough to power more than three million homes. A further 20GW is scheduled by 2045. This will be a major contribution to the UK’s energy security and Net Zero ambitions.

Over 30 developers are currently active in the region. Cornwall is well placed to share its knowledge and experience with a burgeoning global market, helping other regions deliver FLOW technology for transition to a lower cost and a lower carbon economy.

Geothermal

Nearly 40% of the UK’s emissions come from heat use, yet decarbonisation of the heat system is behind that of electricity and transport.

Cornwall sits atop a wealth of naturally heat-producing granite.

Over the last decade, several Cornish companies have sought to prove the viability of harnessing clean, green renewable baseload power and heat from the rocks beneath us.

Exploratory drilling projects have successfully proven the feasibility of producing direct heat at scale. At the Eden Project, all biomes and the state-of-the-art Growing Plant nursery isowered by geothermal energy obtained from the longest geothermal well in the UK, onsite.

The geothermal drilling process is suitable for urban areas due to its small surface footprint, and can be used for large-scale demand to serve institutions like hospitals and universities.

Heat energy can be extracted 24/7, in any weather.

Granite under Cornwall is hotter than anywhere else in the UK, so the South West is likely to play an important in its supply.

The South West and the North East could collectively produce as much as 8GWe of heat energy nationally; the equivalent of four new nuclear plants.