The UK's first deep geothermal well for over 30 years has been used to heat the Eden Project. The 5km well, located on the Eden Project site and operated by Eden Geothermal Ltd, began generating heat in June 2023.
It began supplying heat for the first time once the colder weather set in this winter, heating the Eden Project’s Biomes, new state-of-the-art plant nursery and education hub, and offices. It is the UK’s first operational deep geothermal well since 1986.
It’s expected the pioneering geothermal technology will save up to 500 tonnes of CO2 per year and take the Eden Project almost entirely off gas – the equivalent of 227 UK homes heated with gas - a major step in the organisation’s pathway to achieving net zero and realising its goal of becoming climate positive by 2030.
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Besides heating the Eden Project’s enormous Biomes and offices, geothermal energy is an integral part of the brand-new plant and education facility constructed beyond the Biomes. Growing Point nursery demonstrates regenerative sustainability and circular systems in its construction, operation and purpose.
Regenerative sustainability is the practice of making things better than they were, rather than simply doing less harm. This can be applied to environmental, social and economic initiatives.
Circular systems, or circular economy, is a model of minimising or eliminating wastage and making the most of resources by reusing, recycling and regenerating materials. Built from light, recyclable materials, Growing Point harvests rainwater from the sky and utilises heat from the earth to grow plants for the Eden Project’s gardens, restaurants and shop.
Included within the build is rubble collected from the landslips that affected Eden Project during heavy rainfall and floods in 2020 and granite and limestone excavated from the site’s rainwater collection pond. When compared with a glasshouse alternative, the design and construction of Growing Point had an 89% lower impact in terms of embodied carbon emissions.
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The Eden Project’s chief transformation officer, Si Bellamy OBE said: “We are working with and for nature to develop new ways to grow and new ways to encourage people to think differently about plants, the planet and themselves. We have built a landmark sustainable nursery and education facility - a pillar of our wider ambitions for the future impact and expansion of the Eden Project, and it will help us accelerate massively our mission towards a climate-positive future.”
At 6,500 square metres, Growing Point represents the biggest physical development at the Eden Project since the opening of the Core building in 2006. With a footprint bigger than the Mediterranean Biome, the nursery enables Eden Project’s Horticulture team the capability to propagate and take care of one million plants per year, supporting the organisation’s valuable living collections for its Rainforest and Mediterranean Biomes, Outdoor Gardens and Outer Estate.
The team can grow and supply food for the menus that feed thousands of visitors each year, operating within food metres rather than food miles. Dishes already incorporating geothermally-grown produce have included Thai green curry, orange and fennel salad and poke bowls.
Using deep geothermal heat allows the Eden Project’s horticulture team to grow produce, such as fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables over a longer seasonal period, and experiment with exotic produce that would ordinarily need to be imported, including bananas, papayas, ginger and lemongrass. The facility opens up a world of creative possibilities for Eden Project’s chefs, demonstrating a sustainable, circular food system while connecting visitors to the produce and their stories told throughout the destination’s botanical and cultural exhibits.
Around 90% of the house plants sold in the Eden Project shops and 100% of plants sold online are produced at Growing Point, in peat-free compost, using natural solutions to control pests and diseases. These include Arabica coffee plants that have been grown from ‘beans’ harvested from the Rainforest Biome.
Beyond its vast plant production capabilities, Growing Point includes world-class facilities for Eden Project Learning students, apprentices and other learners. These include a state-of-the-art soil science and teaching laboratory created in partnership with Cornwall College and funded by the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Growing Point is also the home of the Eden Project’s National Wildflower Centre, and the CHAOS group, a community interest social group that provides a space for those with physical and emotional needs to develop work and social skills in a safe and welcoming space.
Find out more about Eden Project’s climate-positive journey at www.edenproject.com.
