Thrive Renewables has announced plans to invest up to £6.5 million in the first geothermal power plant in in the UK.

Located on the United Downs Industrial Estate in Cornwall, the geothermal plant aims to supply around 3MW of electricity to National Grid and up to 12MW of renewable heat for local use.

Geothermal Engineering has so far drilled two wells, one of which is the deepest onshore well in the UK at a vertical depth of 5.1km – almost four times the height of Ben Nevis.

The investment from Thrive Renewables will support the completion of the final rounds of testing and the development of the geothermal plant, which will generate enough electricity to power around 6,500 homes.

Matthew Clayton, Managing Director at Thrive Renewables said: “We are thrilled to provide the finance needed for UK’s first geothermal electric power plant to become a commercial reality. This is a truly ground-breaking project. It’s the first time that we have been able to generate renewable electricity using natural heat from the earth in the UK.

“This pioneering project taps a constant natural resource, providing baseload renewable electricity, a crucial component of the UK’s clean energy generation mix. The project’s potential to generate and distribute heat will also contribute to the enormous challenge of decarbonising the UK’s heat consumption.”