The premier said the government received 38 applications for geothermal permits between Geraldton and Augusta.

WA geothermal exploration company New World Energy Solutions managing director John Libby said the large number of applications for the permits is exciting for the state.

"When the applications are awarded, Western Australia will be the state with the second-highest number of geothermal permits, after South Australia," he said.

"And this is despite the government release only covering a small area of the prospective sedimentary basins in WA."

However, the situation in WA is different to that in SA, according to Libby.

"In South Australia the areas with the best geothermal potential tend to be either hundreds of kilometres from transmission lines or occur in basement rocks where the natural permeability [ability for water to flow through the rock] is likely to be low.

"Consequently, exploration and development will be extremely expensive, so the projects need to be large and have a very high heat capacity.

"However, geothermal resources in the Perth Basin are very close to Perth's well developed power infrastructure and major industry."

According to Libby, this would allow electricity to be generated economically from much lower temperatures and enable the heat to be used directly from the ground for heating, cooling, supplying hot water for use in industry and even for desalination of sea water.

"We will be able to access the geothermal resources at shallower depths from aquifers with high permeability, and at the same time explore for the deeper, classic hot rock plays more akin to those in South Australia," he said.

"This will remove a considerable amount of technical risk and greatly reduce the cost of exploration."

New World has applied for permits in areas that have the potential for a wide range of direct-use applications.

Libby said the company had completed a detailed market analysis of the Perth Basin and reviewed several power station options with positive results.

The first electricity generated from geothermal resources in WA could occur within four years, he claimed.

New World Energy Solutions is a private WA-based geothermal exploration company whose board of directors including Libby and well known geologist Ted Ellyard, a former Hardman Resources managing director.