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New proposals in the UK good for geothermal but not enough

New proposals in the UK good for geothermal but not enough Stimulation work at Well RH15 at Rosemanowes, Cornwall, UK (source: MIT Report 2007)
Alexander Richter 26 May 2014

New UK government proposals on drilling and ownership/ access rights, are helping solve a legal issue of trespassing when drilling direction wells, but geothermal licensing is still needed in the UK, so Ryan Law of Geothermal Engineering Ltd.

Last week, we reported on new UK government proposals that would simplify procedures which are costly time-consuming and disproportionate for new methods of underground drilling. Oil, gas and deep geothermal companies will be able to explore their potential, and will in return provide a voluntary community payment for access.

In a statement to ThinkGeoEnergy, Ryan Law, Managing Director of Geothermal Engineering Ltd. from the UK, commented:  ‘The announcement made the Department of Energy and Climate Change has helped to clarify the thorny legal issue of trespass when drilling directional wells.  This is helpful for geothermal developers, particularly those that plan to directionally drill in urban areas where, prior to DECC’s intervention, all of the landowners would need to be consulted.  DECC still need to go further however and resolve the actual ownership of the heat through geothermal licences.  The UK is currently almost unique in not having implemented licences for geothermal development.”

Geothermal Engineering Ltd. has been developing a geothermal project in Cornwall, England as we have reported here on ThinkGeoEnergy before.