There is a small geothermal power station at Birdsville with a generator capable of producing only 0.15 MW. This plant was put on standby in December 2004. The source of the hot water is sediments within the Great Artesian Basin. The water and sediments are heated by underlying radiogenic granites to around 100°C. Such temperatures can be economic if drilling costs are low, particularly in remote locations where no grid connection is available.
Recent exploration and development activity in Australia by companies other than Scopenergy has focused mainly on the potential for generation of electricity from “Hot Fractured Rock” or HFR sources.
These are principally fractured radiogenic granites. Although Australian efforts are promising, no such sources have yet been exploited commercially, in Australia or elsewhere. |
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