WorldWide Drilling Resource®

Full Steam Ahead for Eden Project Adapted from Information by Eden Project The UK is home to the Eden Project, an educational charity facility nestled in a huge crater in Cornwall. massive biomes house the largest rainforest in captivity; stunning plants and exhibitions serve as a backdrop to the striking contemporary gardens, transformational projects, learn- ing programs, summer concerts, and excit- ing year-round family events. in 1995, the site was just a hole in the ground - a working clay pit nearing the end of its economic life. Eden Project cofounder Sir Tim Smit was looking for an epic setting to showcase the world’s most important plants, and realized he would need a very large space. The first designs of the Eden Project were drawn on a napkin over a drink in a pub. Over time, the design evolved into giant bubbles, because bubbles can settle on any shaped surface, even irregular clay pits. During construction in 1998, the 230 miles of scaffolding used to build the biomes earned Eden an entry into the Guinness Book of Records . in preparation for planting exotic foliage, over 80,000 tons of soil was made using mineral components from local mine wastes. Then in September 2000, the first of many trees arrived to be planted in the rainforest biome. The space would eventually become home to over 1000 plant species. Today, many plants are grown from seed in the Eden nursery, while others come from botanic gardens, research stations, and other supporters. Eden officially opened its doors on march 17, 2001, with visitors reaching over a million by June of that year. Since its inception, the Eden Project wanted to be pow- ered by renewable energy. Because solar and wind power are both intermittent and battery technology cannot yet store all of the energy needs, they turned to geothermal. “We believe the answer lies beneath our feet in the heat underground that can be accessed by drilling technology that pumps water towards the center of the earth and brings it back up superheated to provide us with heat and electricity,” stated Sir Tim. Funding for the first phase of the pioneering geothermal heat and power project was secured by a mix of public and private sources. A single borehole will be drilled over two miles belowground near the main gate. An insulated pipe will be inserted, cold water will be injected down the outside, with hot water travelling back up the inside to a heat exchanger. This should produce enough heat for the bio- mes, offices, and nursery greenhouses. The success of the first phase will pave the way for the second phase, which is a power plant to be erected at the north end of the site, so that by 2023, the Eden Project will have enough power for the whole site, as well as extra power to export for local community usage. 14 MARCH 2020 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Congratulat ions to: Debbie Emanuel W. S. Heitman Dr il l ing Chico, CA Winner for February! Time for a Little Fun! February Puzzle Solution: Infinity Tool Manufacturing Vertek (a Division of ARA) Win a prize! Send your completed puzzle to: WWDRR PO Box 660 Bonifay, FL 32425 or fax to: 850-547-0329 Can you identify which ads in this issue these two photos came from? GEO