The Australian Ministry of Resources and Energy has set aside AUD 35 million for geothermal "proof of concept" projects in order to boost the geothermal sector in the country. The amount is part of round 2 of Geothermal Drilling Program which will introduce AUD 50 million as aid for the developing industry.
It is expected that the Geothermal Drilling Program will support almost AUD 180 million worth of investments in this sector of the energy industry, with estimates that just 1% of Australia geothermal potential could supply the continents total energy requirements for 26,000 years! (Geoscience Australia)
The trick is to find a way to harness this potential in an economical and technologically feasible way. This problem has been recognized by the Australian government, so it is actively pursuing a supportive effort aimed at pulling through geothermal energy.
Here's a list of the Second Round AUD 7 million each recipients:
- Hot Rock – Koroit in the Otway Basin, Victoria
- Geodynamics – near Bulga in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales
- GRE Geothermal WA1 – Perth metro area, Western Australia
- Greenearth Energy – near Geelong, Victoria
- Torrens Energy – Parachilna, South Australia
One of the locations for future geothermal development.
The Australian government is trying to meet three major energy goals, for which geothermal energy development will play an important part. These are diversification of energy supplies, redicing Australia's CO2 emmissions by 60% from 2000 levels by 2050, and finally to produce at least 20% of energy from renewable energy sources by 2020.
[source: Geodynamics, image: Geodynamics]
