Site of one of the first EGS projects in the 1970s for sale in the UK
Stimulation work at Well RH15 at Rosemanowes, Cornwall, UK (source: MIT Report 2007)
Alexander Richter
22 Mar 2013
The site of one of the first EGS projects in the world at Rosemanows in Cornwall is for sale in the UK.
In the 1970s until 1991, Rosemanowes Quarry new Penryn in Cornwall was the site of the first Hot Rocks or EGS project. At the time the project was a groundbreaking project that received some great interest and visits.
Even then prime minister Margret Thatcher visited the site. At the time the plan was to drill up to three kilometers deep to derive the heat from granite under Cornwall.
Funded by the Department of Energy and the Commission by European Communities, the Camborne School of Mines undertook this experimental hot dry rock project. In 1977 as part of Phase I, several 300 m test wells were drilled to test some possible fracture-initiation techniques. In Phase IIA, two wells were planned to reach a depth of 2,000 meters. Both wells were drilled in 1980 with bottom hole temperatures recorded at 79 degrees Celsius. Stimulation was then conducted with explosives and later hydraulically.
In 1983, Phase IIB saw the drilling of a third well to access the reservoir created in phase IIA.
Phase IIIA saw no further drilling, but circulation and other tests and major stimulation in 1985.
The work on that initial project led to many similar projects, e.g. in the U.S.
The site is currently up for sale for GBP 750,000 ($1.1 million) and has received some initial interest from Saudi Arabian Oil companies and some drilling firms.
Source: This is Cornwall
