A Norfolk firm that specialises in converting disused oil and gas wells into geothermal power plants has acquired its first business, helping it to grow its national presence.
CeraPhi, which is based in Great Yarmouth, has bought Third Energy Limited, a North Yorkshire-based former shale gas development company with plans to repurpose the existing wells into clean geothermal energy centres.
The deal will give the Norfolk company eight new sites to work with, consisting of 12 former gas wells, 24.2 miles of subterranean pipelines, and 13.7 miles of buried fibre optic lines.
Since launching in 2013, Ceraphi has pioneered the use of geothermal technologies, which work by tapping into underground reservoirs of steam and heated water that can be used for electricity generation and other heating and cooling applications.
Unlike other renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, it has the advantage of being constantly available.
CEO Karl Farrow said: "The decarbonisation of heat represents a huge UK and global challenge in meeting our net zero targets.
“Combined with the continued insecurity customers face with volatility and seasonal cost of fossil fuels, we have to move geothermal energy to scale to reduce the cost of deploying direct use heat, which is an endless resource not subject to price fluctuation, enabling a move away from our dependency on fossil fuels within our day-to-day energy mix.”
Last month the company announced it would be joining forces with Climate Change Ventures (CCV), a financial services and green project development specialist that has pledged thousands of pounds to help speed up its project delivery timeframes.
Mr Farrow added: “The availability of funding through the facility set up by CCV will allow the company to deliver multiple commercial-scale geothermal energy projects, which will help consolidate our position as a leader in the geothermal energy space.“
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here