Queensland Coastal Geothermal Energy Initiative

Abstract

The best-known potential geothermal resources in Queensland are located beneath the Cooper-Eromanga Basins in the south-west of the state. The depth to the resources, and their distance from potential markets and the existing national electricity grid, are the main challenges for their development for power generation in the near term. The $5 million Coastal Geothermal Energy Initiative (CGEI) is the Queensland Government’s program to implement the commitment made in the ClimateSmart 2050 strategy through the Queensland Renewable Energy Fund to investigate additional sources of hot rocks for geothermal energy close to existing transmission lines and potential markets. The initiative is a cooperative project between Office of Clean Energy and Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) and comprises a structured drilling program of shallow boreholes for the collection of new datasets to identify heat-flow anomalies along the east coast of Queensland. Target areas have been identified based on geological and geophysical characteristics and have been ranked based on their potential for a geothermal resource. The CGEI will reduce exploration risks and assist potential explorers to explore for and develop this source of clean energy in Queensland.