Australia's New Conservation Discovery

Australian scientists are hoping to put their new discovery of untapped geothermal energy to use. Reports came out today that claim the unused geothermal energy could produce 26,000 years worth of clean electricity. The government announced Wednesday they would spend 50 million Australian dollars to help develop this new potential goldmine.

The project involves converting geothermal energy into base-load electricity. Water would be pumped out of the ground, where it would be heated. The heated energy would be used to generate power. Geoscience Australia has mapped out the nation’s geothermal energy by using “temperature recordings from decades of drilling by energy and exploration firms, sometimes a depth of five kms.” (Three miles) Over 5,000 petroleum boreholes across the continent were used to conduct the map.

Australia, being the world’s largest coal exporter, uses it to generate about 77 percent of its electricity. The Australian government has plans to bring up the Aussie country’s renewable energy target to 20 percent by the year 2020.

“Geothermal energy which is sometimes known as hot rocks has got huge potential for Australia, both as a solution to climate change and in terms of national energy security,” Resource Minister Martin Ferguson said. (Michael Perry, Reuters)

Geoscience’s Anthony Budd told Reuters that “hot rocks” need to be 150 degrees Celsius to produce electricity. An Australian Geothermal Energy Association report forecasted this week claims the company could produce 2,200 megawatts of base-load power by 2020, bringing Australia’s renewable energy goal up to 40 percent. “Geothermal energy provides clean base-load power and is potentially a very important contributor to Australia’s energy mix in a carbon-constrained world,” Minister Ferguson said.

Since last November, Australia’s elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd won by promising to include the country in the Kyoto Protocol, whose goal is to “cut emissions by 60 percent of 2000 levels by 2050.”

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