A GEOTHERMAL energy project could provide large-scale low-cost, renewable heat at a fixed price ‘forever’, according to the man behind it.

The project aims to demonstrate how the earth’s geothermal energy could be used to heat buildings using a Deep Geothermal Single Well (DGSW) system.

Manchester Metropolitan University’s Cheshire Campus, in Crewe, will be the initial testing ground if planning permission is granted, with a view to rolling it out across east Cheshire.

If approved, a drill will dig around 1.4 miles into the earth in order to extract water, which will then be used to heat MMU’s Cheshire Campus, before being returned into the well.

The project is part-funded by the Department for Energy and Climate Change, and is being led by Geothermal Engineering Ltd assisted by Ove Arup and Partners.

Dr Ryan Law, managing director of Geothermal Engineering Ltd, said: “We are genuinely excited for being able to develop this.

“We’re hoping to have this connected by the end of March last year. For us, that would be fantastic. The first one in the UK is always a big deal.

“We’ll be able to roll out to sites in Cheshire East very quickly and deliver low-cost, renewable heat.

“The most important thing I think for local populations is that the price is fixed, forever, there’s no fluctuations in oil price, no fluctuations in anything.

“The source is always there, it doesn’t change, so in 50 years time, the heat cost will still be the same.”

Accessing this low carbon heat source could provide renewable energy on a significant scale, and create a boost to the local economy in terms of jobs and investment.

The planning application for the project was submitted on June 12, 2015 and the deadline for comments on 23rd July 2015, though comments will still be considered after this time.

While the project shares similarities to fracking – the process of drilling down into the earth to extract gas and oil from shale rock – Dr Law was keen to stress how different the two methods are.

“Drilling like this has absolutely nothing to do with fracking,” he said.

“It’s absolutely crucial that people understand that all we do is use this as a water well.

“We don’t smash the rocks to pieces, we don’t inject chemicals, we don’t even inject water under pressure, so it’s entirely different from fracking.”