Cheshire East Council has been awarded the biggest grant for geothermal exploration in the country.
The £200,000 granted by the Department for Energy and Climate Change will be used to carry out further feasibility studies into the exploration of deep geothermal in the Leighton area of Crewe.
Council leader Councillor Michael Jones said: "This is fantastic news and we can now begin to undertake further research and understand this incredible energy resource deep beneath the ground here in Cheshire East.
"This council is committed to tackling energy poverty as well as reducing our carbon emissions, so this may be the right solution for the Borough.
"Low-carbon technologies, such as geothermal, are the way forward and will enable local energy solutions and self-sufficiency.
"The grant will be used to verify the benefits of drilling down as far as 5km to extract water at temperatures in excess of 100 degrees centigrade.
"If this is indeed successful, we could be looking at an opportunity to heat new homes in the area with this new technology as well as using heat exchange technology to create electricity.
"The Council is also looking at the possibility of geothermal for other parts of the Borough."
Last month Cheshire East Council was criticised for releasing a press release announcing that the Borough would remain "fracking free".
Councillor Michael Jones said at the time, "Let me be clear, there are parts of the country where local councils will welcome ministers' offer to benefit from shale gas extraction, however our main focus as a council is on the exciting potential for geothermal technology in Crewe.
"We believe this is a 'game-changer' for the borough, providing renewable heat and energy on a significant scale and we are in talks with the government to help us develop the site."
He added: "Fracking may well be a useful technology for other areas and good luck to them if it is, however the people of Cheshire East have our assurance that there won't be any in our borough."
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Come on. I remember learning about geothermal energy at school way back in the last century. It just wasn't cost effective until now! How do you think Iceland (the country not the shop) works?