In announcing the initiative on Friday, Premier Alan Carpenter said there were early indications of isolated hot rock deposits near Moora, Eneabba and Bunbury, and larger areas from Carnarvon to Exmouth and around Geraldton, Broome and Derby.

Next year, the state government will follow South Australia and Victoria’s lead, by legislating to provide a legal framework for companies wanting to pursue large-scale geothermal energy projects.

“WA is highly advanced in developing mineral and energy resources,” Carpenter said.

"We have the investment climate, the businesses and the skills to apply to the development of geothermal energy

“Clean geothermal energy could help WA maintain its competitive energy edge in a carbon constrained future.”

The initiative will form part of a climate change action plan being developed by the state government to include strategies to increase the use of renewable and low emissions power technologies.

Hot dry rock exploration and production rely on exploiting hot granite rock trapped beneath layers of insulating rock no more than 5km below the earth’s surface. The heat in such “reservoirs” can reach more than 250C.

Generating useable energy from hot rocks involves drilling two parallel wells. Water will be pumped down one well at extremely high pressure, passing through fractures in the granites and return up the other well. The super-heated water would then be transferred up via a second well to a power station to generate steam and then electricity.