Australia Pushes Geothermal Energy

_martini_ writes writes to tell us Reuters is reporting that several Australian firms are experimenting with taking geothermal energy mainstream. Geodynamics Ltd. will be making an investment decision on their first geothermal power station in early 2006. From the article: "Mother Nature has been kind to us. Australia could be the world leader within the next couple of years given the geological anomalies present in South Australia," says Peter Reid, chief executive of another explorer, Petratherm Ltd."

Comments

Big anomaly

[Neo-Rio-101]

.... given the geological anomalies present in South Australia

You mean the city of Adelaide?

Re:Big anomaly

[Frogbert]

Quite frankly I'm surprised there is anything at all in South Australia.

Re:Big anomaly

[cheesee]

I live in Adelaide, I would describe it as more of a biological anomaly than a geological one.

Re:Big anomaly

[The Nine]

You're thinking of Western Australia. :p I'm still not convinced Perth actually exists. I mean, sure, it's on the maps, but when was the last time you ever heard anything about Perth on the news, or met anybody from Perth, or had Perth's existence validated in any other way?

Re:Big anomaly

[Anonymous Coward]

My father claims my step-mother moved to perth when they divorced. I wonder now if that's a euphemism for her untimely demise. :)

Joking. She really did move there.
I kinda like perth tho, someone there finally beat up my step brother. The guy seriously deserved it.

Say NO to geothermal

[jnadke]

This is just another attempt at Mother Nature to monopolize the energy market. First coal, then oil, now renewable engeries???

We must rise up to defeat this threat. Say NO to Mother Nature.

Yellowstone Public Utility District

[wardk]

Yellowstone immediately comes to mind as a geothermal power source. I bet if it destroys the environment, the GOP will be all over this.

The other 82%...

[Eponymous Powder]

... is generated in a single energy plant where Russell Crowe's rage is tapped and converted into AC current...

Re:Isn't This Dangerous

[Michael Woodhams]

It isn't like an oil field where, once it is gone, it is gone. The heat is continuously renewed from the earth's core.

It is a lot like an aquifer - a geothermal field will have a limited capacity. Once too much heat is being tapped from it, it will cool down and all users will get less.

Subsidence can be a problem, as can toxic chemicals which accompany the steam/hot water. See the link in this comment..

I'm surprised Australia is looking into this - across the ditch here (NZ), we regard you as geological deadsville. The Newcastle quake was magnitude 5.6, in 1989. Our most recent magnitude 5.6 was a week ago (and 5 others this year.) (OK, not really a fair comparison, as this recent one was 290km deep, and Oz may have had bigger but less damaging earthquakes since Newcastle.)

Oh, and our largest city contains about 50 vulcanos, most recent eruption about 500 years ago.

Oh No!!!

[joelito_pr]

This is the technology used in Pompey's public baths and just look what happened to THEM!!

Re:Ah, geothermal

[John Nowak]

But the point is: you're bathing in powerplant runoff.

Big deal. You've been able to do that in New Jersey for decades.

1,200 Megawatts?

[StikyPad]

There could one day be plants supplying more than 1,000 megawatts of power if the market allowed it, which is theoretically a good chunk of the 1,200 megawatts required to power South Australia.

You mean... 1.2 jigawatts? I'm sorry, but the only thing that can generate 1.21 jigawatts of electricity is a bolt of lightning.

Re:geothermal

[nonlnear]

...I have my doubts that 1GW could be extracted even from that island.

That's no good at all then. After all, it's well documented that harnessing a single lightning bolt can yield 1.21 GW.

That's jig-a-watts of course. ;)