one to watch as olympic dam comes into focus, page-3

A good turnaround in progress here - I wonder if something will happen sooner rather than later. Malcolm Turnbull is all over geothermal, I wonder if he could help stitch up a deal similar to the PTR/BPT arrangement? I would love to see BHP themselves take a stake in the project.


http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/business/geothermal-could-supply-10-of-our-energy-by-2050/2007/04/01/1175366078656.html


Geothermal could supply 10% of our energy by 2050
Barry FitzGerald | April 2, 2007

THE Federal Government believes that geothermal energy could meet up to 10 per cent of Australia's electricity consumption by 2050.

And, unlike other alternative energy sources like solar and wind power, geothermal sources offer the potential to meet base load power (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) requirements.

Reflecting that long-term potential, Canberra last week hosted the inaugural meeting of the Geothermal Industry Roundtable.

The Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Ian Macfarlane, and the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Malcolm Turnbull, hosted the meeting at Parliament House. In his welcome, Mr Macfarlane said the Government would work with industry to prepare a Geothermal Industry Development Framework that would act as a guide to the long-term development of the emerging energy sector, dominated by potential hot-rock developments.

The Government has invested more than $27 million in geothermal energy projects through grants at the research and development stage since 2000.

Mr Turnbull said a key benefit of geothermal energy was its ability to produce energy without greenhouse gas emissions. "Large geothermal power plants have the potential to substantially reduce Australia's carbon dioxide emissions," he said.