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geothermal
AGEC 2012:
The Heat Is On For Australian Geothermal
The 2012 Australian Geothermal Energy
Conference was dubbed ‘unleashing
the heat’, and while overcast and
cool conditions reigned at Sydney’s scenic
Coogee Beach, inside the beachside Crowne
Plaza conference venue the hot topics in
geothermal were addressed by industry,
academia and government over the course
of three days and a variety of presentations.
The mood from the outset was frank, reflecting
an industry optimistic about its prospects yet
realistic in its appraisal of how far it has come
and the challenges it faces.
Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin
Ferguson perhaps set the tone with his admission
that over the past five years the geothermal
industry had not experienced anywhere near the
growth or development anticipated.
“We have not made as much progress as we
would have thought five or six years ago;
it’s proved far more challenging than we
would have thought in terms of the capacity
of industry and I might say where our own
thinking was, the government, in terms of these
issues,” he commented.
Following the recent release of the 2012 Energy
White Paper, Ferguson’s address was topical,
as the government lays out its blueprint for
Australia’s energy future. He told the conference
the make up of Australia’s energy mix is highly
complex, stating the government’s carbon price
is a key driver of the long-term transition to a
low carbon economy, with the market itself
fundamentally driving change.
“The White Paper emphasises that Australia’s
future energy technology fuel mix will be
determined by the market, and so it should be,”
he commented. “The key role of the Australian
Government is to provide proper regulatory
frameworks to meet its policy objectives, and
that is a complex, difficult debate.”
Spruiking the government’s clean energy
credentials, Ferguson noted the Clean Energy
Finance Corporation will come into being
next year, and stated ARENA (the Australian
Renewable Energy Agency) will also be a key
driver of the development of renewable energy
industries.
Ferguson told the conference long-term Treasury
modelling has suggested geothermal sources
could comprise around 20% of Australia’s energy
mix by 2050, however this was tempered by the
observation that Bureau of Resources and Energy
Economics modelling has also found the cost of
geothermal development is likely to be higher
than previously anticipated over the next
15–20 years.
“This underscores the extent of the challenges
geothermal faces in reaching commercialisation
here in Australia. I think we all acknowledge
and appreciate that the development of the
technologies that supply geothermal energy
has not occurred as quickly as we all would
have liked,” Ferguson stated.
Observing the NSW Government believes the
geothermal industry “does hold a great amount
of promise both here and across the country,”
Chris Hartcher, the NSW Minister for Resources
and Energy, like Ferguson, talked about the role
geothermal may well potentially play in the
future energy mix.
“The NSW Government views direct use
geothermal technologies as having significant
potential to provide Sydney, and indeed all
of NSW, with a significant means of offsetting
growing electricity demand and abating
greenhouse gas emissions,” he stated
“With an estimated 55 GW of potential
electricity generation, if 20% of the total
estimated peak energy was extracted, NSW may
have the potential to generate up to 46 times
more energy from geothermal resources than
currently generated using fossil fuels.”
To this end, Hartcher stated the state government
supports geothermal resource mapping, along
with the funding of further research, and
extending the mineral exploration licensing
regime to include geothermal resources.
Hartcher, however, like Ferguson, noted
investment barriers need to be overcome,
commenting that the NSW Government is
committed to building confidence for investors
and developing a framework that encourages
private sector investment.
“The industry does continue to face investment
barriers in the form of higher price costs in
drilling and identifying geothermal resource.
At this stage, there are still significant steps to
be taken to develop the industry,” he told the
conference.
Federal Resources and Energy Minister, Martin
Ferguson.
NSW Minister for Resources and Energy, Chris
Hartcher.
“We acknowledge the government has a role
to play in encouraging research and investment
and ensuring that there are not unnecessary
barriers to investment.”
54 | PESA News Resources | December 2012 / January 2013