Geothermal Energy and UK Power Grid

This assignment analyzes the increasing role of geothermal energy in the United Kingdom's energy mix. It highlights the decline of coal production and the rise of green energy sources like solar and wind. The text focuses on a new geothermal plant at the Eden Project, showcasing its potential to power homes and contribute to sustainable energy solutions.

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Geothermal in the UK
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Introduction
Undertake broad scanning to get a picture of the market
Although the UK does not fall in the category of top ten countries that produce the most and
have installed capacity of geothermal energy resources, the market for heat pumps still has
potential. There is a high utilization rate for the geothermal heat pumps considering that they
form 71% of all the application of geothermal energy resources. Energy production from
renewable and other fuel sources are growing by 6% in the U.K and by 2035, these sources of
energy will produce 45% of the increment in energy, this shows that the market for geothermal
heat pumps still has potential (Becker, 2010).
Macro economic factors
The macro economic environment consists of the following
Political environment
The UK has a heavy reliance on oil and gas as the conventional sources of energy. However,
Geothermal energy might be considered due to the increasing political instability in the middle
East. There are also laws and policies that have been passed by the government to reduce global
warming and carbon emissions which also encourages products in this market to be bought.
There are also numerous incentives in form of tax credits and subsidies for low carbon energy.
Social
There are a lot of social factors that affect the geothermal market, such as the difficulty by
companies to obtain planning permission (Black and Flarend, 2010). This is due to Not-in-my

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backyard opposition from locals. The population is key to the design of effective corporate
strategies that have an impact on local biodiversity over a relatively long period of time.
Economical factors
The UK has a relatively high GDP and this has a positive effect on renewable energy demand.
GDP for the country will also be improved if the country reduces the import and use of fossil
fuel and start using renewable source of energy. A rise in inflation favors investment because
there will be higher returns accrued to factors of production (Gibilisco, 2013).
Technological factors
There are technological advancements that support the production of renewable energy. fOr easy
acceptance by consumers, affordable solutions and sustainable developments in technology need
to be put in place through research and development in this area. There is a lot of reaserach and
development that is being carried out by players in the gas industry for alternative sources of
energy.
Micro Economic factors
investors
Although the threat of new entrants is low, the availability of incentives will go a long way in
wooing investors in the UK for the next five to ten years. New companies which are injecting
huge capital could neutralize the power of existing competitor if they have the right management
team and dedicated staff (Simon, 2007).
Competitors

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Due to the presence of many multinational energy companies in the U.K energy industry , there
is fierce competition as the players strive towards reducing carbon emission to reduce global
warming and therefore they are turning to low carbon energy sources. The renewable energy
sector is fast growing in the UK, thus competition is stiff.
Suppliers
Due to the fact that there are very few suppliers in this sector in the UK , they have a high
bargaining power.
Customers
There are no many options that customers can chose from for GSHP and thus they have a low
bargaining power and cannot influence the prices in the market (DiPippo, 2002).
market size/growth and financial analysis
The UK market has a lot of potential for investors trying to get into this renewable energy
sector. The growth rate of this sector currently stands at 5% and by 2035 it is expected that the
UK will have achieve 45% consumption and usage from renewable energy. This coupled with
the incentives that the government has put in place should woo potential investors in this market.

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TASK 2
Renewables in the United Kingdom go from strength to strength. If between April and
September 2016, the country produced for the first time more electricity from solar energy than
that generated from coal, in the annual calculation the wind is the big winner. For the first time in
the history of the United Kingdom, in the last twelve months, its wind farms have produced more
electricity than their coal-fired power plants. Coal generated 9.2% of electricity in 2016
compared to 22.6% in 2015. Meanwhile, wind generated 11.5% of electricity.
Geothermal Energy in the UK
The fall in thermal generation is due to an increase in carbon taxes and low gas prices, which has
meant that these plants are no longer so economical and their production has fallen to 59% in
2016 alone, the lowest fall since 1935. In addition, the park of old coal-fired power plants is
gradually being reduced in the United Kingdom. Today, it only has ten power stations in
operation, because its objective is to close by 2025 those that still operate and restrict its use
before 2023 (Black and Flarend, 2010).
But the objective for the Government of Theresa May is not renewables but to convert gas as the
"central" energy supplier, and while new combined cycle plants are being built over this decade,
renewables are winning the battle.
Energy Sources

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It already happened for a few days before the end of the year, where a record of renewables was
reached. The country produced more than 40% of its electricity from renewable sources on
Christmas Day, the highest share reached so far and wind energy accounted for three quarters of
the clean energy generated, while almost the remaining 25% corresponded to the photovoltaic
energy (Giudice, Kuenzel and Springbett, 2011).
These figures surpassed those of 2015, when the combination of photovoltaic solar energy, wind
and bioenergy made renewable energy in the UK more energy than ever before and achieved a
25% share in the energy mix of the United Kingdom. Country, surpassing for the first time in
history the generation of geothermal thanks, above all, to photovoltaic production, which grew
115% in the last year (Giudice, Kuenzel and Springbett, 2011).
The UK has shown that wind and photovoltaic solar are complementary: in summer, the sun's
energy generates more electricity, while wind turbines are the most productive in winter.As a
result of these changes, CO2 emissions from power generation in the United Kingdom in 2016
were half that in 2010. Last year a particularly significant reduction of 20% was recorded.
But the game is not over yet. The decisive commitment to gas has caused the electricity from the
cycles to increase significantly, up to 42.7%, above 29.5% in 2015, and the aids to photovoltaics
have been drastically reduced, so that in the next few years the balance could change.

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A professional operating company that creates green energy from geothermal resources. Geoop
promotes geothermal energy as part of the ecological agenda and develops geothermal resources
on the same scale as wind energy. Geoop aims to become the operator of geothermal projects for
district heating companies, resulting in greater operational efficiency and cost reduction
(Giudice, Kuenzel and Springbett, 2011). This milestone is the first time it is produced in the
United Kingdom and reflects the collapse of coal production, which contributed only 9.2% of
electricity compared to 11.5% of wind
Energy brief estimates
In April 2016, the two main sources of green energy - solar and wind - outperformed coal in
electricity production, according to Carbon Brief estimates.
In turn, gas production has fallen 80% since its peak in 2012.
Evans identifies several factors contributing to the readjustment of the energy grid in the country,
which is still dominated by gas and nuclear supplies.
The official data of energy production in 2016 will be published in March
The United Kingdom will soon have its first geothermal plant through the Eden Project, an
ecological theme park that contains the largest greenhouse in the world. Initially, the geothermal
power plant will only be used to power the park, but if it is successful, it will expand to provide
energy to nearby homes (Mckenzie, 2014).

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The plant will be 5 kilometers below Cornwall on a hot granite rock that produces hot water that
will operate a turbine. In the park they estimate that there is enough geothermal energy below
Cornwall to supply 10% of the homes in the UK.The 3 MW plant will be ready for 2012 and will
cost 25 million dollars.
Conclusion
Geothermal energy is more consistent and reliable than solar or wind energy since it is not
affected by climate. They hope that this new plant will draw attention to the potential of
geothermal energy and inspire others to venture into this technology (Mckenzie, 2014).

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References
Becker, P. (2010). Alternative energy. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.
Black, B. and Flarend, R. (2010). Alternative energy. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood.
DiPippo, R. (2002). Geothermal energy as a source of electricity. New York: Books for
Business.
Gibilisco, S. (2013). Alternative energy demystified. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Giudice, G., Kuenzel, R. and Springbett, T. (2011). UK economy. Milton Park, Abingdon:
Routledge.
Giudice, G., Künzel, R. and Springbett, T. (2012). UK Economy. Taylor & Francis.
Mckenzie, G. (2014). Competitiveness of the uk economy. [Place of publication not identified]:
Palgrave Macmillan.
Simon, C. (2007). Alternative energy. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.