infrastructure australia report

Infrastructure Australia has released a report ( "A Report to the Council of Australian Governments", see http://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/publications.aspx ). This would help determine spending on billions of dollars on infrastructure, and mentions some issues that are relevant to geothermal energy and climate change. There are some good signals about the issue of electricity transmission network infrastructure.

Of particular interest is Page 35, which states:

Geothermal energy was proposed in a number of submissions to Infrastructure Australia as a promising commercial source of renewable energy.

Pacific Hydro estimates that unlocking the geothermal potential of the Great Artesian Basin in central Australia could provide up to 25 per cent of Australia’s baseload power for 100 years, while stimulating investment of approximately $9 billion and creating up to 1,000 jobs in central Australia.

However, the Australian Geothermal Energy Association suggests that there are regulatory impediments to developing the geothermal industry in Australia....



It then states:

The lack of access to the National Electricity Market and the lack of transmission infrastructure linking the new energy sources in central Australia to areas of high demand are cited as major impediments to the development of renewable energy sources. Submissions to Infrastructure Australia proposed an electricity transmission line connecting the extremities of the east coast electrical grid, routed through the outback, to open up abundant solar, geothermal and wind resources.