Addressing the Solar Cities Congress 2008 yesterday in Adelaide, Petratherm managing director Terry Kallis said few other countries were blessed with either Australia's solar footprint or the natural abundance of its hot radiogenic granites.
"We are examining the potential of combining solar with geothermal to ‘top up' the heat from the underground reservoir. This could reduce the capital costs of drilling and improve the overall efficiency of energy production," said Kallis, who is also the deputy chairman of the new Australian Geothermal Energy Association.
"It is still early days but there could be significant infrastructure savings in particular by providing large-scale, base load power for remote or off-grid applications - notably in the booming mining sector."
Petratherm owns the Paralana geothermal project in South Australia's northern Flinders Ranges, which it expects to provide Australia's first commercial hot rocks electricity supply in early 2010.
Kallis told delegates that independent energy analysts, including the Electricity Supply Association of Australia (ESAA), were tipping geothermal energy to supply 8% of Australia's total energy consumption as early as 2030 - equivalent to around 4,000 megawatts per annum.
He said the geothermal sector was stepping up to the challenge, with more than 33 hot rock explorers now active in Australia and around 277 geothermal exploration licences granted, most of them in South Australia.
