Geothermal Energys Transition from Resource to Power: Legal Challenges

Abstract

Growth and development in the geothermal energy sector will require the industry to understand and comply with several forms of regulation. The geothermal energy sector has much in common with mining of petroleum and minerals, and is regulated as such. However, because geothermal will ultimately serve as a source of electricity, it is equally important to understand the legal regime that governs the national electricity market and the sectors entry into the electricity market. Differences in State and Territory regulation of geothermal projects mean that the sector will have different obligations with which to comply in different jurisdictions. Different approaches to allocating priority among holders of overlapping tenements are taken under the various State and Territory regimes. The geothermal energy sectors engagement with the Scale Efficient Network Extension (SENE) framework and the National Electricity Market established by the National Electricity Law will be crucial if it is to have a significant role in electricity production.