Adelaide Advertiser
Saturday 24/7/2010 Page: 75
INJECTING $1 billion into connecting renewable energy into the national grid will cut electricity prices, geothermal explorer Petratherm says. Welcoming the election pledge yesterday by the Federal Government as part of its climate change policy. Petratherm managing director Terry Kallis said the company was very excited by the announcement. "It's very positive particularly for emerging renewables like geothermal, solar and wave because there's recognition that many of the best resources are a little distant from the grid", he said. "Geothermal can offer baseload, low-cost supply and if you can get as much of that as possible to market then what that does is put downward pressure on prices".
Petratherm's Paralana project is in SA's Far North and Mr Kallis said as well as price and climate change benefits, an early go-ahead would help development. "It will help electrify and provide good infrastructure for the mining projects", he said. SA's electricity transmission company ElectraNet also welcomed the pledge. "It's the first time it's been recognised in a political sense that to get renewables to market you need two elements - the technology and the connection to the grid", chief executive officer Ian Stirling said.
He cautioned that details were yet to be explained and that "the $1 billion spread over 10 years and then spread across all the states won't amount to a whole lot for every single project". "But it's a great first start", he said. Investec Bank, which invests in renewable energy projects - mainly wind farms - called for a carbon price to encourage renewables. "Where you need the carbon price is to move from having a wind project here and a solar project there to - reducing our carbon intensity overall", said Investec Bank Australia head of renewable energy development Mark Schneider.
Citigroup analyst Elaine Prior said the planned constraints on new coal-fired power stations were likely to encourage the building of new gas-fired plants. Petratherm shares closed 9.4% higher at 17.5c on volumes three or four times above average. However on July 5, it hit a record low of 12.5c. ElectraNet is not publicly listed. Its shareholders include Westpac-owned Hastings Funds Management. Queensland Government-owned Powerlink and Malaysian-linked YTL Power.
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