Renewable Energy
Powered from the ground up
With the Celtic Sea driving some of Europe’s most powerful wind resources, hot granite beneath the surface generating clean power, and farms turning waste methane into zero-carbon fuel, Cornwall doesn’t have one renewable energy story – it has three.
The Opportunity
Now, with the UK committed to becoming a Clean Energy Superpower, Cornwall is harnessing its natural potential to build the renewable energy systems the nation (and our future) can rely on.
Renewable resources unlike anywhere else in the UK
The Celtic Sea alone holds a floating offshore wind (FLOW) resource estimated at more than 100GW – enough to power every home in the UK twice over. Deep underground, Cornwall’s granite generates clean geothermal power around the clock, providing the stable baseload that wind, by its nature, can’t always guarantee. And overhead, Cornwall receives more solar radiation than anywhere else in the country; a resource still waiting to be fully unlocked. Each source is significant. Together, they add up to something the UK needs: clean, reliable, home-grown energy.
Built to work together
What makes Cornwall’s position so compelling isn’t any one of these sources; it’s how naturally they fit together. Geothermal provides the steady baseload that keeps the grid stable when the wind drops. FLOW, with first turbines expected from 2027, will add the offshore scale that no onshore generation can match. And biomethane turns a farming by-product into a fuel source, reducing agricultural emissions in the process. With 232 specialist businesses already here – four times the UK average – Cornwall has the expertise to deliver on the UK’s clean energy ambitions.
Already delivering
Cornwall’s clean energy sector is already in motion. Two geothermal plants are operational and generating electricity for the grid. Biomethane is fuelling local fleets. And in the Celtic Sea, over 30 global energy developers – household names representing billions in future investment – are working towards the first FLOW turbines. Every project that comes online brings the UK closer to the energy independence it needs. Cornwall is making it happen.
100GW+ FLOW potential in the Celtic Sea
enough to power every home in the UK twice over
3,000+ high-quality jobs
from FLOW development alone
232 renewable energy companies
already based in Cornwall
4× the UK average
concentration of clean energy businesses
2 operational geothermal projects
with the potential for further development
More solar radiation, the UK’s richest solar potential
a resource still waiting to be fully unlocked
Celtic Sea Power | Celtic Sea
4.5GW already licensed, first turbines expected in 2027
GEL | United Downs
the UK’s first commercial deep geothermal plant is live
Bennamann | Cornwall farms
Capturing bio gas from dairy farm slurries and converting it into zero-carbon biomethane
The Opportunity
Part of something bigger
Cornwall’s renewable energy sector doesn’t operate in isolation; it’s part of something bigger. Each project connects to something broader – an ecosystem where progress in one sector powers the next.
