Environmental

The 'Green Peninsula'

If you've visited the Eden Project, you'll know what an astonishing fusion of natural beauty and technological genius has been created there. While Eden has become an international focus for ecological awareness and sustainable development, Cornwall itself has been building an outstanding reputation in the environmental technology sector.

Its superb natural environment is Cornwall's most precious asset, so it makes sense for the county to put sustainability right at the heart of its vision for the future. But sustainability is not just about protecting the natural world. For many Cornwall-based companies, it's what drives their successful expansion in fields ranging from wind-farm development and geothermal energy to water treatment and waste management.

Turning Threats into Opportunities

Climate change and environmental pollution are perhaps the greatest threats facing the world today. But these threats also hold out huge opportunities for companies that can rise to the challenge of building a more sustainable future. Exceptional natural resources make Cornwall ideal for every type of renewable energy - wind, wave, solar and geothermal. This has attracted a high number of pioneering businesses to the region, creating an environmental cluster that is at the heart of the UK's growing green economy.

Geothermal Energy in Cornwall

Cornwall's geology makes it an ideal location for deep geothermal energy - and plans for two large-scale power plants are underway. In addition, new UK government incentives will make ground source heat pumps an increasingly attractive option for Cornish domestic and business premises.

Across the South West of England, around 20 sites have been identified as suitable deep geothermal power. A large proportion of these are in Cornwall.

Geothermal Engineering Ltd in partnership with Cornish consultancy GeoScience, are constructing a £40m power plant near Redruth in the heart of the county. The plant will supply 10MW of base load electricity to the National Grid and up to 55MW of renewable heat for local use

A second large-scale plant is located near the Eden Project and aims to power the Project's site.

Homes and schools across Cornwall are also benefiting from geothermal energy and ground source heat pumps, allowing them to generate renewable energy from their own premises.

Solar Energy in Cornwall

Cornwall is officially the sunniest part of the UK - so when it comes to solar power, we have a natural advantage. A solar collector in Cornwall can generate up to 1300kWh/m2, compared to only 900kWh/m2 in Scotland.

Cornwall Council has set out a clear plan to build the UK's first solar park as part of its Green Cornwall programme. In doing so, it also aims to develop a local supply chain for the construction, assembly and maintenance of the site - a 5MW PV park outside Newquay. It plans to take advantage of the emerging technologies already being tested by the Combined Universities of Cornwall, University of Bristol and University of Bath and the Centre for Energy and Environment, based at the University of Exeter.

Wave Power and Marine Energy in Cornwall

With its extensive Atlantic coastline and powerful tides, the South West of England is a world centre for the development of wave and tidal energy. The UK government is investing some £19.5m in the region, approximately half of which is focused on Wave Hub at Hayle, on the North coast.

This unique project provides a large-scale facility for long-term testing of wave energy devices in Cornwall's reliable ocean swell, with all of the energy generated fed into the National Grid. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of devices over a long term period, under different sea conditions.

Support for the industry comes from the Peninsular Research Institute for Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMaRE), a joint initiative from the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth which brings together a unique team of international researchers in marine energy and offers world-class facilities for R&D. These include the South West Moorings Test Facility, a new research vessel and the forthcoming Wave Testing Tank, all of which are available for business use. PRIMaRE, which is funded by the South West RDA, also actively promotes knowledge transfer to industry through its specialist business consultants.

Wind Power in Cornwall

In 1991, the UK's first commercial on-shore wind farm opened at Delabole in Cornwall. Ten turbines were installed, with an annual output of about 12m kw/h - enough to power around 2700 homes each year. This is now one of seven commercial wind farms in Cornwall, together which produce the equivalent of the power used by 25,000 homes.

As well as large scale developments, the county has seen increased demand for community owned wind farms and microgeneration. For example, at Jubilee Wharf in Penryn - a mixed commercial and residential development - four turbines provide 50% of the site's annual electricity requirement.

With government strategy aiming to generate an additional 25GW of offshore wind power per year by 2020, the UK is forecast to be the world's largest offshore wind market. Cornwall's location gives it excellent access to strategic markets, while EU funding available in Cornwall offers an added boost to wind power businesses.

Networks

When it comes to finding innovative technological solutions to environmental problems, Cornwall has the unique advantage of being home to one of the world's foremost centres of earth science: the Camborne School of Mines (CSM), part of the Combined Universities in Cornwall.

CSM's multi-disciplinary approach, industrial links and close contacts with funding bodies put it in an excellent position to help companies involved in areas such as land reclamation and waste recycling.

Also helping companies within the environmental technology sector are:

Low Carbon Cornwall Combining the expertise and knowledge of more than 50 organisations within the public, private, health and community sectors, Low Carbon Cornwall works to integrate sustainable energy into countywide strategies and programmes.