Hot Fractured Rock Geothermal Energy
We should be investing in hot fractured rock geothermal technology.
Australia has potentially one of the largest fields of geothermal hot fractured rock (HFR) energy available. The technology is available to drill for this clean energy.
Surely an investment in the infrastructure required to bring this abundant energy to the national grid would be of long term benefit not only to for our energy requirements but for the reduction of our carbon footprint?
I would challenge the big energy and coal companies to look toward investment in this area in the interests of diversifying their businesses away from coal and energy produced by coal.
John Kirk recently graduated with a MBA from The University of New England and is currently studying for an MBA (advanced) in Corporate Sustainability with Southern Cross University. John has more than 30 years experience in the print industry, having acted as a representative at both state and national levels as a Director of ACFIPS Industry Training Advisory Board and as a member of the Sector Advisory Committee for Innovation Business Skills Australia. John is interested in sustainability, corporate social responsibility, futurism, and developing people. For the last 7 years he has sat on the corporate social responsibility committee for a major corporation.
Philip Argy
January 28, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Australian Geothermal Energy Group
There is some activity in South Australia on this front: http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/geothermal/ageg
John Kirk
January 28, 2011 at 9:11 pm
Australian Geothermal Energy Group
Thanks Philip,
You are correct, and also in Victoria as well. Australia has a number of key areas including Cooper Basin which overlaps South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. There are also basins close to major cities. The Basins in Sydney and Perth, and the Otway Basin near Melbourne.
Geodynamics Pty hope to have a power station up and running on the Cooper Basin by 2012-2013 but at this point it is only relatively small. The potential can only be realised if there is a major investment by both government and energy business in being able to get this carbon free base load energy to the major cities where it is of the most use.
Regards
John
PS Philip, good to hear from you again, You may remember me from my younger days when at MSJ.
Philip Argy
January 28, 2011 at 11:22 pm
Base load power is the holy grail
The failure of people to understand the requirement for sustainable base load power often inhibits discussion of wind and power options with which people get infatuated. In my view wave/tidal/hydro, nuclear and geothermal options are where we should be investing more, with wind and solar regarded as more supplemental or application specific power generation sources.
John Kirk
January 29, 2011 at 3:26 am
Base Load Power
Philip,
I could not agree more. The general populace thinks of renewable energy as wind farms or solar panels on buildings. There is so much more current technology available. We do not need to wait fifty years for technology to develop to replace fossil fuel based energy. We can do it now using non carbon emitting energy producing means such as wind, solar, tidal, geothermal, and even nuclear (although nuclear has its own long term issues). The fact that Australia has so much capacity for all of these green energies speaks of the power of the fossil fuel energy based companies to influence government and investment.
Perhaps a price on carbon will assist. But I beleive that inidviduals and in particular corporations need to be educated as to what is available and how we can readily reduce our carbon footprint without loss of our lifestyle or profits just by changing the focus of our investments.
Regards
John Kirk
olgachristine
February 2, 2011 at 12:11 am
Safety issues surrounding hot fractured rock technology
I find the whole topic of hot fractured rock technology very scary. Watch the documentary: Gasland. and news on various links including this one.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/fossil-fuels/gas-fracking-documentary-finds-nationwide-problems
Fracking is a very worrying approach. Is it simply market exploitation of the move to clean energy? It seems to dirty up the notion of natural gas being clean.
John Kirk
February 2, 2011 at 12:29 am
Olga,
I have read the article
Olga,
I have read the article referring to GASLAND but am unable to view the documentary anywhere. Do you have a link?
I believe that what you are talking about is different to HFR Geothermal energy but am willing to be corrected.
I am including a number of links that I have read on the subject from which I have the opinion that it is a safe form of energy production.
http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/geothermal/ageg/geothermal_basics
http://www.hotrockenergy.com/what-is-geothermal-energy.html
http://www.geodynamics.com.au/IRM/content/hfr_hfrexplain.html
http://www.geothermal.marin.org/
Regards
John
olgachristine
February 2, 2011 at 12:59 am
Gasland documentary
Hello John
The film showed in Sydney November 2010. There is an Australian website for the film which looks comprehensive and as luck would have it – there is a community based screening of the documentary this coming Saturday – 5 February 2011.
I am sure you will find it thought provoking.
This is the link to the Australian web site for the film.
http://www.gasland.com.au/
This is the link to the community based screening 5/2/11 in Sydney.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=184074994945967
Best regards,
Olga Christine
John Kirk
February 2, 2011 at 4:46 am
GASLAND
Thanks Olga,
Most of the criticism has been in regards to coal seam gas but as the HFR uses the same process I will look into this more.
I have noted that the EPA in the USA is currently doing a study on the effects of Fracing on ground water and will look forward to the results.
Regards
John