Speaking yesterday at the 2007 Paydirt South Australian Resources and Energy Investment conference in Adelaide, Department of Primary Industries and Resources of South Australia director of petroleum and geothermal Barry Goldstein said the expected impacts of climate change would drive high levels of Australian investment in geothermal energy.
“Australia’s growth in geothermal licences and expenditure in just the past six years has been significant and is a pointer to the future,” he said.
“This will rapidly accelerate to a point we expect forecast investment in the sector to exceed $500 million by 2012. Australia-wide, this on current applications, will involve 19 companies in 141 areas spending $654 million in work programs, and that excludes up-scale and deployment.
“In South Australia, which will dominate the sector’s growth, 12 companies have already applied for 116 areas and can be expected to invest $524 million in their projects by the next six years.”
Goldstein described SA as “Australia’s hot rock haven” and said PIRSA was confident this emissions-free and renewable energy form would form part of Australia’s secure energy future.
“Recent estimates suggest some 6.8% of Australia’s baseload power needs will come from hot rocks by 2030,” he said.
“Geoscience Australia estimates the national indicative geothermal energy resource to be around 1.2 billion petajoules and this estimate will be refined as part of the Federal Government’s Onshore Energy Security initiative – and as project knowledge advances.
“Several milestones ahead point the way towards the increasing likelihood of geothermal energy establishing a commercial path.
“These include at least 10 projects expected to achieve successful exploration and proof of concept, that is, heat flows, by 2010, and at least three power-generation demonstration projects onstream by 2012.”
These milestones would help demonstrate to the investment community and equity markets that hot rock energy could be a reality, according to Goldstein.
In addition, companies and research organisations working in the hot rocks sector had recently formed the Australian Geothermal Energy Group to share learnings and help commercialise geothermal energy at maximum pace and minimum cost, he said.
