| Title | Conceptualising Geothermal Exploration Models for Australia and the Development of Thermal Modelling |
|---|---|
| Authors | Budd, Anthony R.; Gerner, Ed J.; Kirkby, Alison L.; Lescinsky, David T. |
| Year | 2012 |
| Conference | Geothermal Resources Council Transactions |
| Keywords | Thermal modelling; mappable proxies; exploration; Australia; conceptual models; geothermal exploration |
| Abstract | Geothermal energy has been harnessed in Australia for several decades for both direct use applications and power generation, but only at very small scale installations. Australia’s geothermal resources are amagmatic and unconventional by the accepted definitions in other parts of the world that are centred on active volcanism or plate margin collision. Worldwide, there is a lack of experience in exploring for and developing unconventional resources, and few “deposit” or resource models to aid exploration. The conceptualisation of a range of geological environments amenable to geothermal resource development will underpin the large scale development of geothermal utilisation in Australia. This will include developing exploration models spanning the range of unconventional geothermal resources; from “Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS)” or “Hot (Dry) Rock” where permeability stimulation is a pre-requisite, to “Hot Sedimentary Aquifer” where no permeability stimulation is required. Thermal modelling is being used at Geoscience Australia to develop a set of key minimum criteria for the occurrence of a geothermal resource. From these, mappable proxies will be identified to query a range of geoscience data sets. Thermal modelling work flows are being developed making use of high performance computing, so that models can be run at higher resolution than previously practical, and also so that uncertainty measures can be included. Thermal modelling has been applied in several regions to provide a guide for resource relative potential. Presently, this work is focussed on temperature. The incorporation of permeability estimates will be the subject of future research. |