Adelaide Advertiser
Tuesday 26/6/2007 Page: 50
WIND and geothermal power are shaping up as South Australia's most economical new source of electricity when coal supplies run out. A report to be delivered to the State Government next week predicts an increasing reliance on renewable energy after 2017. The Electricity Supply Industry Planning Council warns that the cost of obtaining coal from other states is likely to be "uneconomic" and it rules out diesel as a potential replacement for coal because of price.
Leigh Creek coalfields have only a 10-year supply left for Port Augusta's Northern and Playford power stations. The council has noted alternative deposits in NSW and Western Australia but says "transport costs and infrastructure issues are likely to make them uneconomic". However, it believes there are "encouraging" signs that wind farms and geothermal power may be able to replace some of the 36 per cent of electricity currently generated from coal. The report says wind farms are dominating new generation construction and, by December, should produce 742 megawatts of SA's total demand of 3274. It says 12 companies have obtained geothermal exploration licences and have provided confidential information on their indicative plans for electricity generated from underground heat.
While the council says northern lignite deposits have "some potential" for power generation, they would need power stations to be built near the mines or extra infrastructure to transport it to Port Augusta. Numerous "thick coal seams" believed to total billions of tonnes have been found in the Cooper Basin but are at depths ranging from 1300m to 4000m and considered uneconomic to mine.
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