Large Scale Integration of Geothermal Energy into the Australian Transmission Network

Abstract

Enhanced geothermal systems are expected to have significant potential for generating electricity in Australia, however two types of challenges need to be addressed. One is technological developments in converting the heat from hot granites 4-5 km below the earth’s surface to electricity. The other is efficiently delivering the generated electricity to end users located far away from the generation zone. The aim of the transmission research program of the Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence (QGECE) is to investigate the technical aspects of connecting remote geothermal power plants to the existing high voltage transmission network. This paper presents an overview of the transmission program by briefly explaining the challenging issues of large scale integration of geothermal energy into the Australian network and introducing the research projects of the transmission program. Details of each study can be found in the cited published papers.