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Old 03-25-2009, 06:30 AM
Sparty Sparty is offline
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Default Panax finds potential cheap source of geothermal energy

Panax finds potential cheap source of geothermal energy

3/24/2009 1:19:11 PM GMT



MILTON, AUSTRALIA: Panax Geothermal Ltd. officials report that a pre-feasibility study of its Penola project in South Australia's Otway Basin indicates the project could potentially generate zero emission baseload power at a total cost of A$63 (US$44)/megawatt hour (MWh).

Panax's Limestone Coast Geothermal project, located in South Australia's southeast near Mount Gambier, could produce Australia's cheapest clean energy.

"These projects costs are highly competitive with other renewable forms of power generation, such as wind or solar thermal, and are on par with gas-fired power generation but without the carbon dioxide emissions and association penalties," said Panax Managing Director Dr. Bertus de Graaf.

"The Penola Project has the scope to be of national significance in the quest to reduce carbon emissions through providing competitively priced, zero emission, baseload power."

The MWh cost of the Panax Phase 2 plant compared well to A$107/MWh (US$75/MWh) for wind and solar thermal projects, A$62/MWh (US$43/MWh) for gas-fired power generation and A$55/MWh (US$38/MWh) for black coal.

The pre-feasibility study was based on a three stage development, starting with a demonstration plant based on one production well and finishing with a Phase 2 plant based on 10 production wells and eight injection wells.

The pre-feasilibity study shows that the project represents a commercially attractive development proposition. The fact that this project has a 'Measured Geothermal Resource' of 11,000 petajoules (PJs) adds to the considerable scope of the Penola project, as 1,000 PJs is sufficient to power a 100 MW power station for 30 years.

The project's location close to the National Electricity Market Management Company power grid also increases the project's potential.

"The Penola Project represents a unique opportunity for the development of a hot sedimentary aquifer geothermal project in Australia and has the potential to power hundreds of thousands of homes," said de Graaf.

Panax is scheduled to start drilling its first production well, Salamander 1, in September 2009; this is expected to lead to the development of the grid connected demonstrated plant by late 2011.

 

Disclaimer: The author of this post, may or may not be a shareholder of any of the companies mentioned in this column. No company mentioned has sponsored or paid for this content. Comments on this forum should never be taken as investment advice.

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