In the middle of the fields of North Yorkshire, other people who once looked at each other with enmity through rolls of razor rope now walk side by side.
A proposed and highly controversial fracking site has the clean, green geothermal energy source.
In 2016, the village of Kirthrough Misperton in North Yorkshire, like many others in Yorkshire and Lancashire, became a magnet for protest activists attracted by the risk of fracking.
Deep on the surface was a possible reservoir of shale fuel and the way to extract it was to hydraulically fracture the rock, water under enormous pressure.
If that were to happen, earthquakes would be feared and fossil mining would be a certainty.
Steve Mason, then head of the anti-fracking organization Frack Free United, didn’t like this.
“The proposal for hydraulic fracturing has been put forward in the country, and as a local resident, I have studied the issue,” he said.
“I was motivated by industrialization, climate renewal, and the desire to move away from fossil fuels. “
Steve helped organize a protest at the local point and also coordinated the political tension, and after two years and 80 arrests, the warring parties won.
The well was drilled but never fractured, leaving the site’s owners, Third Energy, with a deep hole in the ground.
Its CEO, Russell Hoare, showed me around the well and explained its second life. They even reuse the two-meter-tall fuel that plugs the hole.
“This is the well that was drilled for hydraulic fracturing and it’s about 3,000 meters deep, but the protesters succeeded, and Steve succeeded, in preventing this operation.
“But it’s the best way to test geothermal energy. There is hot water at the bottom. All we do is bring it to the surface. “
How does geothermal energy work?
Geothermal energy comes from the radiant heat of the Earth’s molten core, with rocks beneath the surface heating 30°C every 1,000 meters deep.
So if you circulate the water in a deep well over and over again, you’ll have hot water at the tap.
In a volcanic region, such as Iceland, you can get very hot steam to run electric power generators, here you are more interested in showers and radiators.
The concept sparked so much “green love” that Steve now has a director from Third Energy.
“When we were on the campaign trail, we had to say what it was,” he said.
“You can’t just say ‘No, no, no’ all the time. We want to tell other people that it can be done and that it’s a solution. “
The company, which has spent a generation supplying fuel in Yorkshire and supporting hydraulic fracturing, now uses no fossil fuels.
“Don’t go back to fossil fuels”
But despite the huge profits being made lately through fuel companies, Russell isn’t tempted to go back to fossil fuels.
“I think once you see what the future is and you see other people on the network coming in and smelling the radiator and seeing the excitement, it doesn’t make sense for the company to go back to fossil fuels. “
At this site, water heated through the Earth’s core makes some radiators cool and sits in your “show house” shipping container.
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Once commercially operated, they estimate this well could supply 300 homes, requiring much deeper drilling to keep Britain warm.
Gas-to-geothermal company CeraPhi estimates that there are 680 wells in the UK under conversion conditions, as well as millions worldwide, and that new wells can be drilled at a low enough rate to allow for further expansion.
There is interest in that potential. While we’re on site, CEO Karl Farrow travels with an organization and industry players.
They have gotten more than a hundred such visitors in the last month.
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Karl told me, “End-of-life wells can be reused and repurposed to produce energy.
“Using direct heat from the soil is a natural resource. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s on-demand and it’s infinite. “
For now, geothermal energy is still very scarce, but a widespread and reasonable extraction of energy from the Earth’s core would be a game-changer when it comes to climate solutions.
But on a more local level, what do the villagers of Kirby Misperton think about what is still an industry on their doorstep?
The Rev. Jackie Cray, a resident arrested at the protest, said she was “absolutely thrilled. “
“I think the town now has something positive to do, anything that creates local jobs.
“It is a salvation that something so bad, not only for the people, but also for the environment and at the national level, has closed the circle.
“And that’s redemption in baptism. There is long-term hope and not only for our generation, but also for generations to come. “