To date, Greenearth Energy (ASX: GER) has established Victoria's first inferred geothermal resources for the GEP10 area.
This has occurred in a space of 13 months.
The company has also made funding applications to assist proof-of-concept (Stage 1) and demonstration (Stage 2) wells, at the proposed site northeast of the township of Anglesea.
If proximity to a grid is any determinant, then Greenearth ticks the box.
By its own admission, the Geelong Geothermal power project (GGPP) ticks even more boxes:
- A base-load renewable, emissions free power generation project on the doorstep of the Greater City of Geelong - which has the largest industrial carbon footprint in regional Australia
- A sizeable inferred geothermal resource (17,000PJ) capable of (subject to successful proof-of-concept and demonstration stages) delivering 140MW nett at full commercialisation. This would displace approx. 1.32m tonnes of CO2 equivalent or 59% of total estimated industrial emissions for the Greater Geelong region
- A renewable energy project (providing base load power) proximat to crucial grid infrastructure, major industry and one of Australia's largest urban growth corridors (Armstrong Creek)
- Greenearth's GGPP will use a proven resource type (Hot Sedimentary Aquifer -HSA) using establised drilling techniques and modular plant technology (Organic Rankine Cycle) - providing a potentially lower risk, potentially lower cost geothermal power project to the city of Greater Geelong community and on behalf of Greenearth shareholders
In terms of its development and exploration strategy, Greenearth is focusing its efforts in areas proximate to markets and existing energy infrastructure and leveraging off existing Lakes Oil N .L. data and exploration programs in Victoria to reduce exploration costs and fast track outcomes.
The company will be targeting prospects that reveal excellent characteristics for Hot Sedimentary Aquifer (HSA) resources while at the same time hold the potential of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) at deeper depths.
To further its strategy it will also be forming strategic relationships with industry, community, government and academic institutions from which all parties gain synergistic benefits, said managing director Mark Miller.
Greenearth Energy will be employing and contributing to the development of technologies to create power generation and direct heat applications from lower temperature geothermal energy resources (HSAs) and entering into commercial arrangements for applications (Power Generation & Direct Heat) using geothermal energy.
“In doing so we will drive shareholder value by leveraging off the drive towards low carbon power generation technologies and arising market incentives,” he said.
The company will be accelerating its goal to establish, by way of strategic alliance partnerships, a number of advanced geothermal projects (domestically and internationally), ready for development that can potentially deliver near term revenues that will support our longer term domestic exploration and development objective.
Greenearth Energy’s domestic geothermal exploration and development focus is on HSA geothermal resources. HSA geothermal resources along with other hydrothermal systems have been successfully developed for power generation since the 1980s HSA geothermal power plants are successfully operating in the United States, Austria, Germany and Australia.
The only commercial geothermal power plant operating in Australia, is a HSA plant in Birdsville, Queensland.