Greenearth Energy (ASX: GER) believes its technology to convert carbon dioxide emissions into fuel could allow Victoria to further use of its brown coal resources while keeping emissions manageable.

While Victoria already uses brown coal for 85% of its power generation, lowering its emissions could pave the way for other uses including exports.

This was flagged by Victorian Minister for Energy Michael O’Brien saying last week that the State Government would undertake a market assessment of interest in brown coal this year as it had not being used effectively before due to high emissions.

He added that new technologies being proposed could allow the use of brown coal with lower emissions.

Greenearth chairman Rob Annells said the company’s laboratory proven technology could allow Victoria to use its vast brown coal resources into the future by adopting it once it was commercially proven.

“In addition by way of our worldwide research and license agreement with the Weitzman Institute of Science we have a potential opportunity to work with Victorian brown coal export partners to adopt our technology in their countries and utilise our States' brown coal reserves in a more environmentally friendly way.”

He added that Greenearth hoped to deploy a modular technology pilot demonstration within 2 years.

Greenearth’s technology involves a new method of using concentrated solar energy for the dissociation of carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO) and oxygen (O2). The same system can also dissociate water (H2O) to hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2), at the same time it dissociates the CO2. 

The CO, or the mixture of CO and H2 called Syngas, can then be used as gaseous fuel in power plants, or converted to liquid fuel such as methanol.

Existing power plants, cement factories and other emitting industries could provide the CO2 for the process and the resulting fuel could potentially be recycled back into the plant from which it was created or be utilised as transportation fuel

This would substantially reduce CO2 emissions.

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The staged approach to the project 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 megawatts of baseload energy.

Minister for Energy and Resources Michael O’Brien said realisation of this geothermal resource is still some time away, but the Victorian Government grant will support Greenearth to prove the geothermal resource and pilot a 12 megawatt power station using hot water from about 4 kilometres beneath the surface.

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.

The company is undertaking community consultation in relation to the selection of a suitable site for Stage 1 and Stage 2.

Greenearth is also continuing discussions with Alcoa of Australia (ASX: AAI) in relation to areas of potential collaboration.

Greenearth Biomass Energy Pty Ltd will look specifically into opportunities in the biomass and waste-to-energy gasification arena.

The global biomass manufacturing market is projected to increase in 2010-2015 from $572.9 billion to $693.7 billion, according to a report from EL Insights. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9% during this time period.

The costs associated with waste collection, increasingly limited landfill sites, the environmental impacts of landfilling and the difficulties associated with incineration are significant.

Greenearth Biomass Energy will assess a unique biomass waste-to-energy gasification technology and market opportunity in Indonesia, the unique technology solution is universal in its application potential.

Managing director of Greenearth Energy, Mark Miller said, “With the challenges Governments and communities face in dealing with waste and the need to deliver economically attractive renewable energy solutions, we see a potential opportunity for our shareholders in this new growth category.

"Gasification has the ability to convert municipal and other wastes into electric power or other valuable products such as fertilizers and Syngas. Gasifying biomass and other waste streams generates positive economic and environmental outcomes for Governments, participating communities and investors alike.

"Greenearth Biomass Energy perfectly complements our suite of aligned renewable and energy efficiency technologies. We hope to finalise our technology and market assessment in the coming months and provide further details of this exciting project opportunity at that time."

Worldwide, governments are spending billions of dollars each year disposing of solid waste that by its very nature contains valuable unused energy.

According to the EL Insights report, biomass will grow within the biopower, biofuels, and bioproduct sectors.

The market value of electricity generated from biomass in the U.S. was $45 billion in 2010 and will increase to $53 billion by 2020.  According to the BPA (Biomass Power Association), the biomass industry produces 5 million megawatt-hours of electricity every year, provides 18,000 jobs nationwide, and removes more than 68.8 million tons of forest debris every year.

According to the report, here’s what we can expect:

- Government subsidies for research and development of renewable transportation fuels will reduce the United State’s dependence on foreign oil significantly by 2020.

- 30 to 40 million hectares of crop will be needed in the EU to meet the demand for biofuel, and half will be in developing countries which is expected to push the price of staple foods in these countries by 15 percent by 2020.

- Plant waste and municipal trash converted into biofuel has the potential to reduce emitted CO2 by more than 90 percent over gasoline.

Greenearth's subsidiary Greenearth Solar Energy received the green light for the demonstration facility at 69 Fennell Street Port Melbourne, the first Z20 demonstration site outside Israel.

Greenearth believes the ZenithSolar Z20 has the potential to efficiently deliver the dual benefits of emissions free power and hot water to a wide range of customers throughout Australia and the wider Pacific region.

Mark Miller, Greenearth Energy's managing director,  said "we are delighted to have received this approval and we look forward to successfully commissioning our Port Melbourne demonstration site later this year.

"We look forward to successfully delivering our Victorian trial and moving to full distribution within Australia and the wider Pacific region.”

With its unique central location, the site will allow potential investors, project developers and offtake customers easy access to the state-of-the art technology.

Eight Z20 units on the site will produce a peak output of 88kW thermal energy (hot water) and 36kW of electrical energy.

The successful operation of the ZenithSolar Z20 CHP solar technology at Kibbutz Yavne in Israel has demonstrated the impressive benefits of the technology which include:

- Combined Heat and Power generation (CHP);
- Industry leading combined efficiency of greater than 75%;
- Dual output (Heat and Power) improves project ROI;
- System design allows for easy upgrades;
- Modular Installations with small footprint; and
- Proven field performance.

In late 2010, Greenearth Solar Energy and ZenithSolar signed a Conditional Distribution Agreement under which a trial of the ZenithSolar Z20 technology will be carried out in Victoria.

A successful trial will result in Greenearth Solar Energy and ZenithSolar establishing an Exclusive Distribution Agreement for the technology across Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and a number of Pacific Island nations.

If the technology delivers optimum performance under the conditions of the location, there will be commercial potential for the technology domestically.

On August 25 Greenearth received a trade award from Israel's Ministry of Trade and Labour in recognition of the company's outstanding contribution to the forging of international trade links with the country.

The company is bullish that its partnerships with Israeli companies will lead to the commercial application of clean energy technologies in Australia and beyond.

Greenearth Energy's other projects include High Intensity Discharge (HID) energy efficient lighting, Co2 to fuel, and geothermal energy including the Geelong Geothermal Power Project (GGPP).

Greenearth Energy shares rose 18.42% to $0.09 in trading this morning.

Importantly, the program allows a flexible approach to funding and Greenearth should benefit from this in its quest to establish base load renewable energy generation in Victoria.

In November 2011 Greenearth signed a memorandum of intent (MOI) with Alcoa (ASX: AAI), representing a significant and substantial development for the Geelong Geothermal Power Project (GGPP), providing a potential pathway from the preliminary planning stage through stage 1 exploration to stage 2, demonstration and grid connection.

Alcoa has operated a power station in Anglesea for over 40 years, with the Greenearth Energy proposed GGPP resource area just 9 kilometes northwest of the Alcoa operation.

At least one third of the total program funding is expected to be available to support the development of geothermal energy in Australia.

This initiative has come on the same day that Greenearth Energy and fellow Australian geothermal explorers Torrens Energy (ASX: TEY), Green Rock Energy (ASX:GRK) and Hot Rock (ASX: HRL) have mutually executed deeds of termination with the Australian Government for their Geothermal Drilling Program (GDP) grant funding.

The economic conditions over the past year combined with the agreed construct of the GDP grant limited project recipients’ ability to attract project funding, resulting in them not meeting the requirements of their GDP grants in the timeframes stipulated.

The Clean Energy Future package includes the $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the 3.2 billion Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will cut pollution and drive investment in new clean energy sources, such as geothermal.

Geothermal remains the country’s only potential large scale zero-emission renewable baseload 24/7 energy source, and this has been recognised with the announcement today by the Australian Government.

The Emerging Renewables program aims to reduce the costs of new technologies, improve skills across the renewable energy industry, and leverage finance from the private sector as well as state and territory governments.

Greenearth is also waiting on the finalisation of a $25 million grant from the Victorian Government for the Geelong Geothermal Power Project, first announced in December 2009.

Greenearth requested the halt pending an announcement 'concerning a material contractual agreement which relates to the company's ongoing investigations into CO2 conversion technology.'

The trading halt will be lifted at the earlier of the announcement made to the market, or trading commencing on Friday 1 July.

Mark Miller, managing director, said “by earning Energy Savings Certificates we are able to offer our clients improved financial returns as well as improving the uptake of our solutions.”

By producing the certificates the company can manage the governance and administration requirements associated with this activity as well as undertake the process of trading the certificates to scheme participants for each eligible project.

Participants in the scheme purchase certificates from Accredited Certificate Providers who create the certificates following the completion of energy saving activities.

The scheme places a requirement on participants, such as energy retailers, to obtain and surrender Energy Savings Certificates that represent eligible energy savings under the scheme.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, a New South Wales government body, provided the accreditation in relation to the specific Recognised Energy Savings Activity (RESA) for High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting equipment upgrade and optimisation.

This RESA accreditation reflects Greenearth's use of core technology provided by Israeli-based partner, Metrolight. Metrolight is the leading manufacturer of Smart Electronic Ballasts that power HID energy efficient lighting systems.

Richard Branson's Virgin Green Fund has invested in Metrolight whose HID lighting solutions can deliver substantial energy savings of up to 65%.

The company’s subsidiary, Greenearth Energy Efficiency, provides comprehensive lighting solutions to customers, including: core electronic HID technology, sensors, control systems alongside turnkey installation and commissioning of complete systems either for retrofitting of existing premises or new installations that offer a more effective energy efficiency solution.

Greenearth may add further RESAs that could include projects from lighting upgrades using different technologies, or projects from company subsidiaries such as waste heat recovery projects from Pacific Heat and Power, as well as potential solar hot water upgrades using existing Greenearth Solar Energy technology called ZenithSolar.

Greenearth is  currently advancing the Geelong Geothermal Power Project, in which the company signed an agreement with Alcoa (ASX: AAI) late last year.

PureCycle harnesses waste heat in the form of hot water, low pressure steam or thermal oil to generate electricity.

The impact on the Gympie Timber Company is actually very big, as they will now become a net exporter of electricity, boosting short term cash flows and effectively adding a second revenue stream to the company.

With the exported power, an energy retailer has made a preliminary offer for both power and the Renewable Energy Certificates.

Mark Miller, managing director of Greenearth Energy, said “Vast amounts of useable heat energy are expelled into the atmosphere on a daily basis.

"We believe that waste heat recovery along with energy efficiency represents a substantial market opportunity for our company."

The sale to the Gympie Timber Company was made by the Greenearth Energy subsidiary Pacific Heat and Power.

The memorandum of intent (MOI) represents a significant and substantial development for the Geelong Geothermal Power Project (GGPP), and provides a potential pathway from the preliminary planning stage through stage 1 exploration to stage 2, demonstration and grid connection.

Alcoa has operated a power station in Anglesea for over 40 years, with the Greenearth Energy proposed GGPP resource area just 9kms northwest of the Alcoa operation.

Greenearth and Alcoa areas to potentially work together include, with these main areas to be investigated by the MOI; The identification of a site sufficient for the GGPP stage 1 proof of resource/concept, and the stage 2 demonstration, 12MWe, on land currently leased by Alcoa.

Other areas include; Grid connection of the GGPP via Alcoa infrastructure assets, base load renewable energy off-take as a result of a successful GGPP stage 2 Demonstration, 12MWe geothermal energy plant (PPA), purchase of renewable energy certificates (REC's) as a result of a successful GGPP stage 2 demonstration, and, to work cooperatively towards evaluating and implementing other low-carbon technologies.

Mark Miller, managing director of Greenearth, said “Our two organisations have discussed a potential site within Alcoa’s mining lease area that has all the necessary characteristics for the GGPP exploration stage.

“We view this MOI with Alcoa as a further endorsement of the potential that our project has in delivering zero emissions, base load renewable energy to our state."

Stephanie Pearce, power station manager for Alcoa at Anglesea, said Alcoa’s Victorian Operations have reduced direct greenhouse gas emissions by over 60% since 1990, and the MOI with Greenearth Energy is in line with Alcoa’s ‘big picture’ response to climate change.

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The agreement with Alcoa is significant as it potentially ticks most of the boxes for Greenearth's GGPP including site, grid connection, demonstration plant, base load renewable energy offtake and grid connection.

In late 2009, the Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson revealed five geothermal energy projects would receive Australian Government funding of $35 million, from round two of the $50 million Geothermal Drilling Program.

The GDP supports Proof-of-Concept projects to help establish Australia as a world leader in geothermal technology development.

The $7 million GDP funding agreement allows Greenearth Energy an initial drawdown of funds in support of the company's hot sedimentary aquifer (HSA) geothermal energy project located in the Wensleydale - Gherang area northwest of Anglesea, Victoria.

Greenearth Energy is also negotiating contracts with the Victorian State Government further to being awarded $25 million in late 2009 under the Energy Technology Innovation Strategy (ETIS) program for large scale, pre-commercial, sustainable energy demonstration projects for its Geelong Geothermal Power Project.

The Victorian Government awarded the Geelong Geothermal Power Project $5 million for the Stage 1 Proof of Resource and, upon successful completion of Stage 1, a further $20 million for the Stage 2, 12MWe geothermal energy demonstration plant.

Mark Miller, managing director for Greenearth, said, "Greenearth Energy is very pleased to have completed this process in regards to our flagship project."

"The Geelong Geothermal Power Project Stage 1 Proof of Concept is in a unique position, being supported by both State and Commonwealth funding totalling $12 million".