Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant, Iceland. Credit Gretar Ívarsson
By Rich Bowden:
A new research centre, which will develop methods to power cities and desalinate water using geothermal energy, has been opened in Perth, Western Australia.
The Western Australian Geothermal Centre of Excellence (WAGCOE) is a partnership between CSIRO and The University of Western Australia and the Curtin University of Technology, with funding for the project provided by the WA State Government, a CSIRO news release reported. The new centre will bring together researchers, industry, investors and government agencies to examine methods of using geothermal energy to provide future cities with desalinated water, air conditioning and power using the city of Perth as a prototype.
Klaus Regenauer-Lieb, the head of the new research facility said the centre would examine a number of opportunities to exploit geothermal energy and the centre’s location in Perth, W.A, was an ideal location to locate the geothermal research.
“The shallow groundwater of the Perth Basin is an excellent source of low-grade heat which can be used for direct-use applications that people use every day,” Professor Regenauer-Lieb said.
“By exploring for and using low-grade heat in a permeable sedimentary environment, we are addressing a previously overlooked opportunity to broaden the applications and use of geothermal energy,” he stated.
“Our aim is to make Perth the first geothermally cooled city in the coming decade and we are working closely with geothermal lease holders, city planners and other stakeholders to advance the geothermal industry and make this vision a reality.”
Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum, the Hon Norman Moore, who launched the project, said funding from the W.A. Government had paved the way for the opening of the exciting new project.
“The work of the Western Australian Geothermal Centre of Excellence will be instrumental in making geothermal power part of Western Australia’s energy sector,” he said.
“This Centre is another great example of how the funding from the State Government’s Centres of Excellence program can be used to create an institution that will benefit all of Western Australia.
“I am sure in the coming years we will see some very exciting developments and research emerging from the Centre.”
Geothermal energy is heat released from natural radioactive decay or released from the Earth’s core, according to WAGCOE. Advocates for geothermal energy say Australia has abundant stores of the resource and see it a viable source of energy as the country looks to curb its heavy reliance on a fossil fuelled driven economy.
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