Hi wrongsidetraderI used Surat as an example of the problems...

Hi wrongsidetrader

I used Surat as an example of the problems with the report, which is basically the unrealistic assumptions of recoverable energy, resulting in a grossly false impression of the geothermal potential of QLD. The other "prospective" areas had the same problems.

Ideally, the authors should have done more work and identified specific potential aquifers and then done their assessments - however, at the time, exploration was still on level one - where in Australia should I look?

Yep -Winton was/is a great idea - if only they'd used an off-the-shelf micro ORC box from Climeon instead of building new plant from scratch..

Well pumps are a significant cost from the power the use which can kill a marginal project. They become less of a problem as either or both of the fluid temperature and reservoir permeability go higher, or if there is artesian flow.

For potential revenue, taking the known Turkish plant as example at 3.8 MWe (which is gross, excluding power used internally for pumps) - that is 3.8 x 24 x 365 = 33,288 MWh which at a nominal A$100 per MWh = $3.32 mill gross annual income. The next step is to assess the exploration, capital and running costs of the plant - which I don't have.. (This particular plant probably receives the original Turkish geothermal feed-in tariff of US$103 per MWh, roughly A$150, which goes a long way towards making it profitable)

On the bright side, it's great that GRV is taking a serious interest in geothermal. For the moment exploration licences are low cost and once they're in hand GRV can properly explore and assess. I hope they find enough encouragement to drill and then develop profitable plants.

On the dark side, in my view, the low temperatures mean the income scale will be relatively low, based on plants of 3 - 5 MWe at best. However, they will produce 3 to 4 times more power than a solar farm with similar MWp, take up less space, and operate in all weather - and therefore will be a solid part of the regional power generation mix. But don't expect gold mines..