Funding for potential Geelong-area geothermal plant

Thursday, 3 November 2011

The Victorian Government has provided further significant support for renewable energy with a $25 million investment in a grid-connected geothermal demonstration project near Geelong.

Greenearth Energy Ltd has signed a contract with the Victorian Government for the Geelong Geothermal Power Project (GGPP), which could result in a 140-megawatt (mW) geothermal power plant providing clean, renewable power for 100,000 homes.

Realisation of this geothermal resource is still some time away, but this grant will support Greenearth Energy to prove the geothermal resource and pilot a 12 mW power station using hot water from about 4 km beneath the surface.

The staged approach to GGPP will initially confirm the productive properties of the target hot sedimentary geothermal aquifer and – if a geothermal resource is proven – then develop a commercial geothermal plant that could produce up to 140 mW of baseload energy.

The Government will contribute $5 million to help Greenearth prove the geothermal resource, with a further $20 million to be made available if milestones are met and a 12 mW grid-connected demonstration plant is built.

While a site for the project is yet to be finalised, Greenearth holds an exploration licence that covers an area around the Geelong-area townships of Gherang, Wensleydale and Anglesea.

Greenearth will have to satisfy rigorous and comprehensive planning and environmental regulations and carry out local community consultation before any work can begin.

Greenearth already has a significant consultation program underway and the Government expects Greenearth to work closely and cooperatively with any communities in which it seeks to operate.