29 NOVEMBER 2021 WorldWide Drilling Resource® YOUR AD COULD BE HERE AND SEEN BY THOUSANDS ALL YEAR! Geothermal Energy to Power Rum Distillery in Cornwall Compiled by Amy White, Associate Editor, WorldWide Drilling Resource® Cornwall’s rich history of rum smuggling and mining has taken a turn toward the future with the development of a new geothermal rum distillery and cask maturation facility to be powered through the first geothermal power project in the UK. As reported in WWDR in December 2019 and June 2021, this power source was initiated by drilling the deepest well in the UK to roughly 16,700 feet for Cornwall’s United Downs geothermal plant. With temperatures reaching approximately 383°F (195°C), the well is also the hottest. Staying true to Cornwall’s pirate history, some of this geothermal energy is planned to be harnessed for rum making. Located in the middle of Cornwall’s copper kingdom which is a World Heritage Site, the project is being established with sustainability at the forefront, and with the hopeful possibility of regenerating the land while honoring its historical mining legacy. Matt Clifford, founder of the Cornish Geothermal Distillery Company (CGDC), said along with bringing the UK’s first geothermal rum facility to life, the project also vows to clean up and restore a cultural landscape currently littered with old tires, spilled oil, and other trash such as broken wood and metal. Permission, with certain conditions attached, was recently granted by Cornwall Council for a project called Celcius - the Sustainable Distillery Research Centre - to be constructed on the outer edge of the former United Downs landfill site, situated adjacent to the location where Geothermal Energy Limited (GEL) is set to begin producing geothermal power in 2022. GEL’s deep geothermal energy plant will pipe waste heat directly to the Celcius center where groundbreaking methods being developed by CGDC and engineers will boost the temperature with innovative heat pump technology. This will provide enough geothermal energy to operate a copper still for the distillation of rum and for the facility to mature rum in casks. The proposed Celcius development will have the capacity to hold up to 3200 casks of rum for up to ten years while showcasing the maturing process. By using heat and power from the nearby geothermal source, it plans to maximize energy efficiency, minimize energy loss, and achieve a net zero carbon design. The multimillion dollar CGDC facility is projected to be up and running as early as 2022. “From geothermal technologies and offshore wind, to sustainable lithium extraction - we are spearheading it here in the land of mining expertise,” said Clifford. Former tin miner and long-serving local councillor Mark Kaczmarek lives near United Downs and has followed progress of geothermal projects in the area. He said, “Once again, Cornwall is forging a global technological way. I’m excited that this part of the world is becoming the first in Britain to use deep geothermal energy as a main source of power and I’m delighted that CGDC has chosen Cornwall to invest in and create much-needed green, quality jobs.” Editor’s Note: In between our print issues, the WWDR Team prepares an electronic newsletter called E-News Flash by WorldWide Drilling Resource®. This newsletter is filled with articles not included in our print issue. Based on readership, this was the most popular article of the month. Get in on the action and subscribe today at: www.worldwidedrillingresource.com GEO Concept image of how the Celcius geothermal rum facility could look once complete. Photos courtesy of Grimshaw Architects. Proposed interior of the rum distillery to be operated by geothermal energy.
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