Greenearth Energy (ASX: GER) is a diversified Australian renewable energy company that has interests in conventional geothermal resources in Australia, Indonesia and the wider Pacific Rim.
The company also has technology opportunities and project applications in the waste heat recovery, energy efficiency, combined heat and power solar, and CO2 to fuel conversion markets.
Greenearth Energy’s positive news to propel Geelong geothermal project
Melbourne-based Greenearth Energy (ASX: GER) has have taken an important step towards securing government backing for its Geelong geothermal power project (GGPP) after receiving some positive data from technical consultants Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM).
SKM deemed that the successful development of the GGPP had the potential to provide considerable CO2 displacement during both the GGPP demonstration stage (12 MWe) and its full commercialisation (140 MWe).
Using a weighted average of CO2 emissions from coal-fired plants in Victoria by capacity of 1.188 tonnes of CO2 per MWh of production and assuming that the output of the GGPP will offset generation from fossil fuel plants in Victoria, each MWh produced by the GGPP is projected to offset an equivalent MWh from an existing brown coal-fired power station.
The annual energy production of the initial 12 MWe GGPP is estimated at about 95,000 MWh, which translates into displacement of about 112,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per annum, while the proposed commercial-scale 140 MWe GGPP has the potential to displace 1.316 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per annum.
Greenearth managing director Mark Miller claimed the GGPP offers an opportunity to exploit a significant geothermal resource to deliver substantial quantities of emissions free baseload power and, in real terms, substantial CO2 displacement for decades from the one small footprint geothermal plant.
“We are hopeful that our applications to the Federal and State Government for funding for the GGPP are met with success,” he said. “We have worked hard to get to where we are today and look forward to public and private sector support to bring this … renewable energy initiative to fruition.”
