| Abstract |
Australia’s vast hydrothermal and hot rock energy resources have the potential to become a very significant source of safe, secure, competitively-priced, emission free, renewable baseload power supplies for centuries to come. This potential combined with the evidence of risks posed by climate change is stimulating growth in geothermal energy exploration (drilling), proof-ofconcept (flow tests) and demonstration power generation projects in Australia. In the seven years since the grant of the first Geothermal Exploration Licence (GEL) in Australia in 2001, 33 companies have joined the hunt for renewable and emissions-free geothermal energy resources in 283 licence application areas covering approximately 231,000 km2. The associated work programs correspond to an investment of AUS$821 million (US$780 million), a tally which excludes up-scaling and deployment projects assumed in the Energy Supply Association of Australia’s scenario for 6.8% (~ 5.5 GWe) of Australia's base-load power coming from geothermal resources by 2030. Most investment is focused on HFR for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) to fuel binary power plants. At least two companies are also focused on hydrothermal resources, also to fuel binary power plants. The anticipated cost of EGS energy in Australia has been estimated at AUS$50–$60 (US$47–$57) per MWh. Without carbon pricing, many forms of conventional energy generation such as coal and natural gas are more cost effective. Geoscience Australia’s preliminary work suggests Australia’s hot rock energy between a minimum temperature of 150oC and at a maximum depth of 5 kilometres is roughly 1.2 billion PJ (roughly 20,000 years of Australia’s primary energy use in 2005), without taking account of the renewable characteristics of hot rock EGS plays. Key advances scheduled for publication in 2008 include: (1) a national EGS resource assessment by Geoscience Australia; (2) a roadmap for the deployment of geothermal energy projects through a joint effort by Australian State and Federal governments; and (3) an Australian Federal Government’s Geothermal Industry Development Framework. |