Renewable Geothermal Heat to Warm Pickering and Kirby Misperton

Former gas wells and deep salt layers will provide cleaner, cheaper geothermal heating to communities in Kirby Misperton and Pickering.

Lower heating bills and cleaner energy will soon benefit residents across Ryedale as natural geothermal heat is tapped to produce warm water.

A former potential fracking gas well is being repurposed in Kirby Misperton to provide a reliable, low-carbon heating source. The first phase of the Heat Network Project will supply renewable heat to a local business office, a hotel, and a church, with plans to eventually connect homes and other businesses as the network develops.

Ceraphi Energy chief executive officer Karl Farrow said the project will demonstrate how existing energy infrastructure can be given a new purpose.

Mr Farrow said:

"We are delighted to be working with York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and the local community to develop an innovative geothermal heat network in Kirby Misperton.

By repurposing an existing gas well to harness heat from beneath the ground, the project will provide a reliable, low-carbon source of heating for local buildings and homes.

As well as helping to reduce carbon emissions, the project will demonstrate how existing energy infrastructure can be given a new purpose, creating jobs and opportunities for sustainable investment and supporting the transition to cleaner, more secure energy across North Yorkshire."

Mr Farrow added that the scheme aims to bring baseline energy into local communities that often face restrictions on accessing affordable energy.

"We've done a several years now of demonstration of proving our technology on the site, and we're now connecting this particular site up to a village not far about 500m, over as a crow flies across the field here to Kirby Misperton.

Fundamentally, what we're trying to do here is actually bring baseline energy into local communities, which generally suffer from more restriction on access to clean and cheap energy. And actually providing the customer with cheaper energy bills, more baseload accessibility to to energy through a renewable source, which currently is very challenging for rural communities."

The transformation of the site has been welcomed locally, with community leaders expressing support for the development.

Reverend Councillor Jackie Cray said:

"I'm delighted about this project. Having opposed fracking in this village to actually have what I think is quite a redemptive piece of work bringing thermal energy up from the well that was fracked, I think is exciting."

Feasibility studies are also underway in nearby Pickering that could see geothermal wells installed at Ryedale Swim and Fitness Centre and a local infant school. Pickering Town Community Interest Company has established a group of volunteer geothermal champions to drive sustainable community energy forward.

Mike Potter, a geothermal champion for Pickering Town Community Interest Company, explained that the area's geology makes it particularly suitable for extracting heat.

Mr Potter said:

"Ryedale is particularly suitable because of a salt layer at around 1600 metres deep, and we can obtain a lot of heat from that.

This project may also show we don't actually have to drill down that far, which will keep development costs down.

The Carbon Negative Challenge Fund means we can carry out feasibility work at Pickering Infant School but more excitingly we're developing a business case so, with the right investment, we can be ready to drill a well at Ryedale Swim & Fitness Centre, Pickering.

The benefits of renewable geothermal energy are huge. It means lower bills, energy price stability, energy security and resilience, and we're playing our part in cutting carbon emissions, plus the prospect of reinvesting profits within the town.

I'd eventually like to see millions being put into developing geothermal community energy - and we're leading the way right here in North Yorkshire."

Mr Potter emphasised the importance of reaching a shovel-ready stage to secure further funding for the pilot project.

"The carbon negative challenge fund as provided by the mayoral authority is giving us feasibility money for two projects at the moment.

One is fairly initial stuff with the infant school. More developed is the one for the swimming pool, where we're hoping to actually get that to a shovel-ready stage, which is really important for trying to get further funding to actually deliver a pilot project.

Now, what that hopefully means is that we can get full de-carbonisation, greatly reduced costs, remove the volatility of those costs and have energy security. And this is a really important aspect for the area."

Both initiatives are funded by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority through the Carbon Negative Challenge Fund, which supports the transition away from fossil fuels.

David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, stated that the region has the ambition to become England's first carbon-negative area by 2040.

Mr Skaith said:

"We've got the landscape, the expertise and the ambition to go further than any other region in England and become the first carbon negative region by 2040.

With my Carbon Negative Challenge Fund, we're taking big steps towards our goal by backing the people behind our most pioneering projects.

Just like our partners at Ceraphi and Pickering Town CIC who will use our support to tap into the heat under their feet, bringing hot water and lower bills to the town."

Councillor Jenny Kent, the combined authority's Environment and Climate Portfolio Holder, highlighted the scale of the investment.

"The Mayor's Challenge Fund is supporting our ambition to make this region the first carbon-negative region in England by 2040.

In Kirby Misperton, former gas wells are being re-purposed to supply sustainable heating to homes and businesses.

Meanwhile, in Pickering, we're supporting the town's community interest company to explore ways to bring geothermal energy to a school and to Ryedale swim and fitness centre, cutting energy bills and reducing greenhouse gases.

This is one of the great projects which is representing over 6 and a half million pounds of investment into innovative projects and trailblazers that are going to pave the way to cut emissions in our region and bring clean energy and energy independence to York and North Yorkshire."

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