In separate statements, the company said it has acquired two new exploration licences near Renmark in SA, while also acquiring a second Spanish project, this time near Barcelona.

South Australia

The company yesterday said the geothermal exploration licences, 26km northwest of Renmark, cover the highly prospective Renmark Trough. They are also close to two major high voltage transmission lines, capable of carrying in excess of 220MW of power.

Petratherm said the two new neighbouring licences capture the deepest portion of the Renmark Trough, a fault-bound depression of the Murray Basin.

The estimated depth to basement, based on seismic data, is 3.5km, while measured thermal gradients in the area are elevated and potentially around 40C per km.

“The current exploration initiative is looking to test a conventional geothermal model of directly extracting hot brine waters from aquifers near the base of the trough,” Petratherm said.

Two high voltage 132 KV transmission lines run through the tenement holding.

“Network analysis of the transmission system has confirmed that this is a strong portion of the National Electricity Grid and could easily support a large-scale geothermal development,” the company said.

“Whilst the region will not yield as high a geothermal gradient as Petratherm’s flagship Paralana Project, the licence area is attractive for geothermal exploration by virtue of its proximity to large capacity transmission infrastructure and the potential for the utilisation of naturally occurring hot geothermal waters at depth, requiring relatively lower engineering costs to develop.”

Spain

Following on the heels of its entry into Madrid, Petratherm said it has now secured a second project in Barcelona. It is also preparing applications for another two sites in the European country.

“The Barcelona project adds to Petratherm’s portfolio of geothermal projects at a time when the European Union is increasing its commitment to combating climate change with proposals for further and substantial target greenhouse gas reductions, beyond those contemplated by the Kyoto Protocol,” managing director Terry Kallis said.

“Our Madrid and Barcelona projects have targeted Spain’s two largest cities as their end use markets. The close proximity of those markets together with prospective geology and high renewable energy prices provide a strong foundation for achieving commercial viability.”

The company pointed to an independent study by Ernst & Young, which identified Spain as the most attractive country cor developing renewable energy projects. The study ranked several countries and reviewed factors such as tariffs, resource potential, growth and grid capacity.

The two neighbouring exploration licences are located in the Vallés Region of Catalonia, about 25km north of Barcelona, an area of high heat flow well-known for its naturally occurring hot springs, which are currently used for therapeutic bathing and the direct heating of local communities. Petratherm said this made its acreage highly prospective for both conventional and hot rock geothermal resources.

“The region is densely populated with a well-developed transmission infrastructure to support its strong industrial, agricultural and tourist based economy,” the company said.

“The tenements are ideally situated adjacent to a major transmission hub which connects five major transmission lines capable of carrying a total of around 2000 MW throughout the region and to the nearby city of Barcelona.”