UK geothermal hots up with public green bond

The geothermal power station proposed to be the UK’s first has raised more than £1 million in 24 hours through a crowdfunded investment bond. Abundance Investment, which describes itself as an ethical peer-to-peer finance […]

The geothermal power station proposed to be the UK’s first has raised more than £1 million in 24 hours through a crowdfunded investment bond.

Abundance Investment, which describes itself as an ethical peer-to-peer finance platform, has just launched the opportunity for the public to directly invest as little as £5 in the construction of the United Downs facility.

The site’s developers suggest geothermal energy could one day provide up to a fifth of the UK’s electricity needs, whilst ensuring a constant supply of power without producing any greenhouse gas emissions.

The bond seeks to raise up to £5 million to assist with the construction of the plant near Redruth in Cornwall.

The project has recently been awarded a £10.6 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund and £2.4 million of public funding from Cornwall County Council.

The geothermal plant is expected to have a capacity of 3MW, enough to supply 5,500 homes each year.

Bruce Davis, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Abundance, said: “Geothermal technology is proven to work in Italy and Iceland but hasn’t so far been used in the UK to generate electricity.

“This is a ground breaking project, which is backed by EU grants and the Local Authority and offers a chance for ordinary people to take a stake in something with the potential to deliver significant carbon reductions in the future.”

The Energy Ministry in Mexico has issued three exploration permits for geothermal energy.

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