A new small scale geothermal power plant for Victoria’s Latrobe Valley will point the way to a future of renewable, low-cost energy generation utilising the earth’s heat, leading geothermal energy consultancy HDR (www.hotdryrocks.com) said today.
The Victorian Government has awarded HDR a $217,000 grant to advance research and development on the Maryvale Power Project under the state’s Energy Technology Innovation Strategy (ETIS).
HDR principal Graeme Beardsmore said geothermal was key to the state’s future energy mix and offered a low-cost energy solution to help Victoria realise its goal to cut emissions by at least 20 per cent by 2020 and increase the amount of electricity supply from renewable energy.
“For a long time, geothermal has typically been ignored as a viable clean energy option because it is out of sight and therefore out of mind but this grant will help to put geothermal on the long-term agenda,” Dr Beardsmore said.
“Geothermal is a virtually inexhaustible source of emissions-free, base load power generation more than sufficient to transplant the supply currently generated by coal, especially in Victoria.”
Under the ETIS initiative, HDR will continue to work closely with industry partner Air International Thermal Systems towards building a low-cost power plant at Maryvale in the coal-laden Latrobe Valley by the end of 2012, Dr Beardsmore said.
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