Levelling up: Geothermal network could aid deprived areas, report says

A network of geothermal plants would bring jobs and investment to areas in need, according to the report

Geothermal energy could unlock jobs in some of the most deprived parts of the country, a new report claims.

The study, by Conservative MP Kieran Mullan and Durham University, found what it called the top 45 places across the UK to locate plants using hot water stored in rocks deep underground.

Its findings suggested an overlap with several areas identified as being in need of so-called levelling up.

They include the North East of England, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.

Deep geothermal energy uses heat from naturally-occurring underground water sources to generate power above ground.

Modern technology can allow it to be accessed through drilling into aquifers and a network of plants could create 35,000 jobs by 2050, the report claims.

There are disadvantages to the technology though - greenhouse gases can be released from underground during drilling for geothermal power plants, and drilling can also trigger earthquakes, BBC Bitesize reported.

'Clean, green resource'

Of the 45 areas highlighted, six - Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, East Lindsey in Lincolnshire, Northumberland, and Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire - were also in the top 10 of local authorities found to have the lowest economic resilience, Dr Mullan, who worked in A&E, said.

The Crewe and Nantwich MP said geothermal energy was "a clean, green, reliable resource that we have fallen behind in making use of".

He added: "The remarkable findings about deep geothermal and levelling up were unexpected. But they give us yet another reason to look again at how we can support this technology."

Geothermal is being used to heat 250,000 homes in Paris, the MP said, as well as generating two-thirds of energy in Iceland.

Acknowledging the report, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it would help the government "consider whether there is a bigger role for deep geothermal".

He added: "We have made rapid progress on switching to homegrown renewable electricity and have made energy security a key priority.

"Success is going to depend on pulling all the levers at our disposal."