PLANS for the UK's first electricity producing geothermal power plant were announced today.

The project, a joint partnership between the Eden Project and EGS Energy, could potentially produce enough carbon neutral electricity from hot underground granite to supply 10 per cent of the UK's electricity requirements.

The plant would be built in Cornwall and initially be used to power Eden's site near St Austell.

Engineers believe that the vast quantity of geothermal energy stored in Cornish granite would eventually enable them to also make a significant contribution to the national grid.

Tim Smit, Chief Executive of the Eden Project, said: "Powering the Eden Project site from a renewable source of energy is clearly a priority for us and we are very pleased to have the opportunity to bring our unique vision and environmental skills to the project alongside EGS Energy's experience and skills in engineering geothermal systems."

There is currently a geothermal plant at Southampton which supplies heat, but engineers at Eden say they hope to become the first working power plant that could potentially supply up to three megawatts of electricity.

The Eden power plant would consist of a two borehole system, both up to four kilometres deep.

Water would be circulated between the two wells, being heated by the hot rocks in the process and returning to the surface at approximately 150ºC where it would drive a binary turbine to create electricity.

Eden spokesman David Rowe said further development of the plant would see the hot water being used for other purposes such as community heating.

He said the project, subject to planning permission and funding, could be completed and producing power by 2012.

Roy Baria, Technical Director of EGS Energy Limited, said: "With the geology in the vicinity of the Eden Project being ideal for creating our power plant and its reservoir, we would not only expect to be able to supply virtually all of the Eden Project's power and heat requirements but generate surplus power that could be fed into the grid to help meet the Government's CO2 reduction and renewable generation targets."

For more see Tuesday's Western Morning News and Thursday's Cornish Guardian.