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Geothermal Energy In Australia
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Author: Tobi Nagy
Topic: Science
Viewed: 62 time(s)
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GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN AUSTRALIA Geothermal energy might hail as
an alternative source of energy to drive our turbines in a race
to produce ?cleaner? electricity.
What is Geothermal Energy? Geothermal energy is a natural
?clean? source of energy that is tapped from holes drilled
several kilometres below the earth?s surface from which hot
water and steam is extracted. It is a clean source of energy not
requiring fossil fuel inputs (other than the drilling
machinery), but may provide a lasting source of energy for
decades, possibly even centuries.
Testing by Geodynamics In South Australia, Geodynamics, a
company established to work out a way to economically extract
geothermal energy below the barren Cooper Basin in the state is
conducting trials into drilling into 90 million year old granite
rock bed into one of the hottest spots on earth to extract hot
water, to provide steam to power turbines for ?clean? fossil
fuel free electricity.
A $40 million exploration and testing program is currently
underway in the hope of finding an economic form of extraction.
There is a hope that a full scale commercial operation will
eventually commence that will provide hundreds of Megawatts of
power to the state?s electricity grid, in the race to reduce
Greenhouse gases.
The major investor Origin Energy has already committed to taking
50% of the output to put into their electricity grid once the
commercial operation commences in the near future.
About the author:
Tobi Nagy is a small business develoment consultant and a
specialist on developing sustainable systems. His website can be
found at http://www.sustainable-development.net
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