Work has begun to extract naturally heated water from beneath the University of York that will be used to warm the entire campus.
The Deep Geothermal Energy Project said the scheme, supported by £35m of government funding, could also heat homes in surrounding communities and generate electricity.
The process will involve drilling two pizza-sized boreholes to reach water 2.5 miles (4km) below ground which will be channelled through heat exchangers to power the university’s radiators.
The energy source is “pretty much” infinite and will cut fossil fuel use on the campus by 78%, project leader Paul Bushnell said.
