greenrock mention, page-2

Below follows the text that directly relates to GRK's mention in the previous link.It should also be noted that other Australian-listed geothermal companies were also mentioned in the report but that GRK had the vast majority of the coverage, something that should be viewed very positively.

Green Rock Energy Ltd. and the University of Western Australia (UWA) have been formally offered the Geothermal Exploration Permit in the Perth Metropolitan Area, including the UWA's Crawley Campus, enabling the development of the first geothermal energy project under Western Australia's (WA's) recently enacted geothermal legislation.

The UWA Geothermal Energy Project is designed to replace a significant portion of the UWA's Crawley Campus' electricity powered compression chillers that produce cold water for air-conditioning with geothermal power absorption chillers. This commercial demonstration project will replace about 5 MW thermal, or one third, of the electricity presently used to power the university's central air-conditoning plants. Absorption chillers are proven technology widely used for commercial air conditioning in the U.S.

Green Rock Energy's Managing Director, Adrian Larking, said, "This UWA based renewable energy project will be the first geothermal energy project undertaken under Western Australia's new geothermal legislation, the first geothermal powered absorption chiller in Australia and the first major geothermal project in Western Australia. We aim to be the first major geothermal project in production in Australia."

Green Rock Energy will drill two geothermal wells to a depth of approximately 3,000 meters (9,842 ft), to provide the 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) geothermal water to power a 5 MW absorption chiller. One well, a production well, will be used to access and obtain the hot geothermal water and the other, an injection well, will be used to return the cooler geothermal water following the extraction of the geothermal energy (in the form of heat) by the absorption chiller.

By replacing conventional compression chiller plants that use electrical energy, large commercial buildings, including universities, hospitals, hotels, airports, data centers and shopping centers, can be air-conditioned using geothermal water as the principal power source. This is particularly so in Perth which sits on a deep sedimentary basin up to 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) deep with multiple heated aquifers.

Following completion of the UWA Geothermal Energy Project the aim is to replace further air-conditioning capacity at the Crawley Campus and replication of the concept throughout the Perth metropolitan area.

In addition to its Perth Geothermal Exploration Permit, Green Rock Energy has been formally offered permits in both the Collie and Perth Basins where the company considers there is geothermal potential for electricity production as well as the direct use of the geothermal energy for air-conditioning and water desalination which will displace electricity as their energy source.

In particular, it is proposed to apply the know-how developed in the UWA Geothermal Energy Project to a geothermal powered district heating and cooling system at Alkimos, the next major Perth suburban development 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Perth CBD, being planned for development in 2011.

The replacement of a significant portion of electricity demand with geothermal powered district heating and cooling will be a major driver for the intended move to carbon-neutral living at Alkimos. Up to 50 MW of electricity generation capacity may be eliminated. District heating and cooling systems, which distribute hot water and chilled water to multiple buildings for air-conditioning, have been used in commercial buildings for decades.

To date they have been mainly used in business districts and institutional settings, such as university campuses like UWA's Crawley Campus.

District heating and cooling has proven to be a major contributor to green house gas reduction in many European and North American countries. As energy costs and community concerns about green house gas reductions increase, industry is finding new ways to use the technology. As a result, geothermal energy is becoming an important source of energy for district heating and cooling.

Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning typically account for more than 30 percent of the energy consumed in commercial buildings. Geothermal powered district cooling systems in particular benefit the local power grid by being always a constant and reliable source of energy, available when needed, reducing peak power demand and alleviating power congestion due to transmission limitations. District cooling not only helps cool cities; it helps alleviate the challenges posed by high and peak electric consumption.