Australian state widens search for geothermal
BRISBANE, Australia, March 7, 2007. Ten new areas in the interior of Queensland will be opened for exploration of geothermal energy.
The parcels of land cover a total of 5,400 km2 of land and explorers can use geothermal exploration data from the state energy and mines department to assess the potential. Energy minister Geoff Wilson says the government released the land in a call for tenders late last year.
“The data that's been collected over the recent past by the department has identified that these particular sections are associated with deep artesian systems deep within the earth's crust,” he explains. “One is the Great Artesian Basin itself and that's in central western Queensland, as well as some to do with the Eromanga Basin in south-western Queensland.”
The prospective areas are spread across the state, including five west of Longreach, one northeast of Roma, one south of Gladstone, one south of Charters Towers, one between Georgetown and Mount Surprise, and one east of Aurukun. Queensland has claims to hold most of Australia's potential high-temperature and hot-water geothermal energy resources.
“We're paving the way for potential new explorers to kick-start the search for more geothermal energy,” Wilson adds. “While we're providing the opportunity for explorers, we're also taking into account the concerns of anyone with an interest in the land parcels.”
“Landholders, local government, native title bodies for the land and those holding a mining interest in the land can also have their say; they can lodge a submission with the department and raise any issues relating to the call for tenders,” he explains. “All submissions will be considered and those concerns taken on board.”
“Electricity generation from geothermal energy is very environmentally friendly,” he adds. “There are no GHG emissions because the geothermal energy is derived from heat from deep within the earth's crust with no waste material generated.”
“This form of renewable energy could underpin a non-fossil-fuel-based economy of the future,” he says. “It is in keeping with the state government's energy policy to source electricity generation from conventional and renewable energy sources.”
Three forms of geothermal energy can be used in Queensland, including directly tapping water of 98.5°C from the Great Artesian Basin; accessing hot dry rocks at depths of 5 km under the Eromanga and Cooper basins in southwest Queensland; and hot springs which have a lower temperature heat source.
“Initial estimates indicate the hot dry rocks beneath the Eromanga and Cooper basins could meet all of Australia's energy needs for many years into the future, if all of that hot rock could be exploited,” says Wilson. “The geothermal industry will have a future in Queensland because it can produce more base load energy than any other renewable energy source and the land has the right geological environment to develop commercial projects.”
Renewable Energy Focus © Copyright 2008, Elsevier Ltd, All rights reserved.