Renewable Energy Handbook 2010 - Department of Finance - The ...

A 1.7.3 TECHNOLOGIESHot rock process requires water to be pumped deepbelow the earth’s surface in to heated geological formation.Signifi cant investment has been made to develop thetechnology with proof of concept projects in Hot Rocktechnology underway. Australia has several thousandcubic kilometres of high heat-producing granite rock.Geothermal energy produced from hot rocks is anadvantageous option for reducing emissions as it is acontinuous and inexhaustible source of zero-emissionpower generation. Geothermal also has the potentialto displace or balance other renewable technologiesthat are affected by changing weather conditions.A 1.7.4 CURRENT USAGEWorldwide, geothermal energy is utilised for directheat and power generation. In over 30 countries,geothermal resources provide a directly used heatcapacity of around 15,000 MW. Twenty-four countriesobtain 15 to 22 per cent of their national electricityproduction from geothermal energy with an installedcapacity totalling 9064 MW. Currently there is onlyone geothermal project in operation in Australia, foundin Birdsville Queensland. It uses hot water from theGreat Artesian Basin and is rated at 120 kW.Figure 13. A Simple Hot Dry Rock Power Plant.SOURCE: AUSTRALIAN GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ASSOCIATION INC.OFFICE OF ENERGYRENEWABLE ENERGY HANDBOOK 2010A 1.7.5 POTENTIALAccording to Geoscience Australia, hot rocks within5km of the earth’s surface contain energy suffi cientto deliver 2.6 million years of energy to Australia,based on current supply. It has also suggested thatif one percent of this energy could be tapped, it wouldbe equivalent to 26,000 times Australia’s annualpower consumption.In a report by the Australian Geothermal EnergyAssociation it is suggested that the Australian geothermalenergy industry could provide up to 2200 MW ofbase load capacity by 2020, with the cost of generatingelectricity from geothermal resources at around $90 permegawatt hour for commercial-scale plants by 2020.A 1.8 Further InformationA 1.8.1 THE AUSTRALIAN ENERGYRESOURCES ASSESSMENTAdditional information on Australia’s energy resources,including renewable resources can be found in theJoint Report by Geoscience Australia and AustralianBureau of Resource Economics, Australian EnergyResources Assessment 2030 – released on 1 March2010, The Australian Energy Resource Assessmentexamines the nation’s identifi ed and potential energyresources ranging from fossil fuels and uranium torenewables. The assessment reviews the factors likelyto infl uence the use of Australia’s energy resourcesto 2030, including the technologies being developedto extract energy more effi ciently and cleanly fromexisting and new energy sources. The report can befound on the Geoscience website at www.ga.gov.auA 1.8.2 THE RENEWABLE ENERGYATLAS OF AUSTRALIAThe Renewable Energy Atlas is an interactive Atlasof Australia that provides information on Australia’sRenewable Energy Resources. The Atlas profi leswind, solar, geothermal, ocean energy and bioenergyresources. There is also contextual data such asenergy infrastructure, transmission lines and powerplants, roads, land tenure and climate information.Available at: www.environment.gov.auA 1.8.3 THE RENEWABLE ENERGYMAP OF AUSTRALIAThe Renewable Energy Map of Australia providesinformation about operational renewable energygenerators across Australia. A link is also providedto a map of proposed sites. The generators areclassifi ed by technology. Raw data about all thegenerators can be viewed via spreadsheet at:www.ga.gov.au/renewable/53RENEWABLE ENERGY BACKGROUND