In only its second year, the Australian Geothermal Energy Conference (AGEC) could easily be mistaken for an established industry event; drawing 431 delegates – 100 more than last year’s conference – and 32 exhibitors, there was hardly a spare seat in the room during the conference keynotes and project presentations, while the exhibition space hosted a buzz of animated discussion during the lunch and cocktail hours.

The conference brought together exploration, development and service companies, governments and research institutions, pulling together a first class program that provided up-to-date information on progress from each of the leading companies. Updates from government on support for the industry were also well attended, along with comprehensive briefings on the various technical aspects that make up the industry.

AGEC is run by the Australian geothermal community, which is represented by the Australian Geothermal Energy Association (AGEA) on policy, market and advocacy matters and the Australian Geothermal Energy Group (AGEG) on all technical aspects.

Highlights

2009: A busy year for geothermal

AGEA Executive Director Susan Jeanes presented the industry achievements of 2009, and said that it had been a very busy, and very important, year in terms of the extensive policy and advocacy work undertaken. This included the commissioning and release of numerous independent reports on the role and potential of geothermal energy, submissions to government on policy relating to geothermal and renewable energy, the launch of AGEA state chapters in South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia, and the publication of the second edition of the Geothermal Reporting Code (see page 39 for a detailed review of the Code).

Ms Jeanes also noted the industry’s membership of the International Partnership for Geothermal Technology, and of the newly formed Australian Emerging Renewable Energy Technology Alliance, whose other members include WWF, the Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society (now the Australian Solar Energy Society) and Oceanlinx.

Other important industry developments included Geodynamics reaching ‘proof of concept’ (POC) of its Habanero 3 projects; funding announcements of $253 million from the Renewable Energy Demonstration Program (REDP) and $14 million from the Geothermal Drilling Program (GDP); and the arrival early in 2009 of the Weatherford 2,000HP 828 rig.

2010 and beyond

Terry Kallis, AGEA Chairman and Director of Petratherm, spoke about the future of the industry in 2010 and beyond, including significant changes to the National Electricity Market, consolidation of the industry and the likelihood of new entrants to the sector. These new entrants will include resource companies and utilities, following in the footsteps of Origin, Beach, TRUenergy and AGL. Mr Kallis added that consolidation is being driven primarily by funding needs, but also by the need for skills and critical mass.

He said “2010 will be a watershed year for the industry where activity will be accelerated across the board.

“Increased transparency by industry of resources, through the geothermal reporting code, and economics – through the AGEA Committee – comes with the increased maturity of the industry.”

Mr Kallis said that POC drilling will be underway in at least seven projects in 2010, which is only limited by the availability of drilling rigs.

Collaborating to compete

Barry Goldstein, AGEG Chairman and Director of the Petroleum and Geothermal Group, Primary Industry and Resources South Australia, provided a comprehensive presentation on the national outlook, highlighting the huge growth in the Australian geothermal industry in recent years, and emphasising the need for knowledge share.

“This is a sector whose time has come to collaborate in order to compete,” said Mr Goldstein.

One of the important developments that will not only require industry collaboration, but also collaboration with other electricity generators is the development of the first Scale Efficient Network Extension (SENE).

The SENE is a proposal put forward by the Australian Energy Market Commission recommending the efficient connection of clusters of generation. Power generators (including geothermal) would be connected to distribution and transmission networks in clusters, based on factors that contribute to economies of scale, such as the viability and timing of future generation projects, and size or length of the network assets required.

Strong government backing

The Queensland Minister for Natural Resources and Energy Stephen Robertson, and Federal Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson both stressed the government’s strong commitment to supporting geothermal power generation. Mr Robertson announced that the Queensland Government has committed $5 million for the Coastal Geothermal Energy Initiative to define regions with high geothermal heat flow that may indicate new sources of geothermal energy along the Queensland coast, close to existing electricity transmission lines.

Mr Ferguson told delegates that the Australian geothermal industry now has the right partnership with government, including significant funding through the REDP and GDP, for Australia to lead the way domestically and internationally in proving geothermal technology.

“With the financial support the Government has announced previously, along with the intelligence and hard work shown by many of you here today, I hope that the industry can go forward and play a role in Australia’s energy future.”

“The platform has been created. The ball really is in your court,” said Mr Ferguson.

Conference Dinner

Green Rock Managing Director Alan Knights received the Inaugural Chairman’s Award for Contribution to the Industry. Mr Knights said that he expected there to be some stiff competition in 2010 now that the existence of the award is known.

Delegates said that they would be looking forward to hearing from the comedy duo Red Hot Cols again, who generated more than a chuckle over dinner.