Habanero Pilot Project – Australia’s First EGS Power Plant

Abstract

Geodynamics Limited (GDY) is Australia’s leadinggeothermal exploration company, and is a world leadingdeveloper of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). EGSgeothermal systems involve circulating geofluid betweentwo wells drilled into a hot granite body (the “undergroundheat exchanger”) and extracting heat at the surface usingconventional shell and tube heat exchangers.This heat may be utilised in ‘Direct Heat’ applications, orfor power generation. The energy resource potential of EGSis significant, however the proportion that is recoverabledepends heavily on the presence of fractures, faults, or otherstructures that enable fluid circulation throughout otherwiseimpermeable rock. Technology exists to stimulate suchfeatures, however available techniques do not allow suchfeatures to be initiated where they do not naturally exist, andthe technology for locating natural features is also limited.For most of the last decade, GDY has focused on developingEGS resources in the Cooper Basin, near Innamincka, SouthAustralia. This resource is one of the best in the world, withmeasured temperatures up to 264°C at ~4,600 m depth and afracture system that has, in the course of the Project, beenproven to circulate geofluid.GDY’s flagship project is the Habanero Pilot Project (HPP).First electricity was generated in April 2013 and the Plant iscurrently undergoing operational trials. This paper discussesthe trial operation of the above-ground facilities of the HPPand the testing program that will inform the design of futurecommercial-scale plants.Other papers (Humphreys, 2013) provide more informationabout the drilling and reservoir stimulation aspects of theProject.