Full steam ahead for energy

Canberra Times
Wednesday 7/4/2010 Page: 15

A geothermal energy company has struck the environmentally friendly equivalent of oil in South Australia's south-east, in doing so putting the Federal Government on track to meet its green energy targets. Panax Geothermal's drilling rig at its Salamander-1 geothermal well in the Otway Basin near Penola has hit steam. Geothermal energy is heat from the earth's crust that has zero emissions and is an environmentally sustainable, natural resource ready for electricity production. Unlike other renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar, geothermal energy is continuous rather than reliant upon the weather.

Panax Geothermal managing director Bertus de Graaf said yesterday's announcement meant the company was one step closer to having a demonstration power plant in operation by May 2011, subject to the results of Salamander-1. "This has shown there is a reservoir that can flow and the temperature projections have been confirmed, so we were more or less spot on.., so far so good," he said. South Australian Premier Mike Rann said the hot sedimentary aquifer project was the most advanced in the country.

"South Australia's Otway Basin contains what geologists call anomalously high heat flows relatively close to the national electricity grid," Mr Rann said. "This means successful projects in the Otway Basin are mach closer to the electricity grid than the hot rock geothermal projects now being explored in the remote far north of the state." The Government hopes a success could eventually lead to renewable geothermal energy being tapped into the national electricity market. Dr de Graaf said the quality of the reservoir would be determined by mid-May. Federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson welcomed the breakthrough.

At the well's official opening last month, Mr Ferguson said geothermal was the clean equivalent of a coal-fired power station. "The early growth is going to be in wind power but the real breakthrough we need is in areas such as geothermal because it's baseload reliable power that is akin to a coal fired power station," Mr Ferguson said. Dr de Graaf said the renewable energy sector was being let down because there was no price on carbon and a discrepancy in the price of renewable energy certificates. Panax Geothermal shares closed 1.5c higher at 14c yesterday.