Covid-19 has delayed a project to use geothermal energy to provide district heating in Stoke-on-Trent, developer iGas said in a trading update.

iGas took on the 14MW deep geothermal project in the Etruria Valley, Stoke-on-Trent  when it acquired GT Energy last year.  It will supply heat to the city of Stoke-on-Trent on a long-term ‘take or pay’ contract with the city council, which will own and operate the heat network.

It was expected that drilling and testing could commence in Q2/Q3 2021 with the installation operational by March 2022. But iGas says the pandemic has delayed building  the heat network. It is also awaiting a revised planning decision, which is expected before Easter.

The project received pre-accreditation from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy under the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme earlier in 2020 and iGas said discussions with government regarding future financial support beyond the closure of the incentive to new projects on 31 March were ongoing.

The company said it had a growing development pipeline, with  potential projects in Newcastle, Crewe and Southampton.

 

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