WASHINGTON, D.C. --
The company Packers Plus Energy Services Inc. distributed a release
on its role as partner with Geodynamics Limited (ASX:GDY) at the
Geodynamics Innamincka Deeps Project in the Cooper Basin of South
Australia. “Packers Plus worked closely with Geodynamics to design
specialized Inferno™ completions equipment capable of withstanding 300°C
(600°F) and 69 MPa (10,000 psi) pressure,” the company stated.
“This equipment was instrumental to the EGS process, which involves
stimulating existing fractures in low-permeability, high-temperature
rock to allow water to flow through and be superheated.” Geoff Ward, CEO
of Geodynamics was quoted, “the willingness of Packers Plus to design
and test their equipment to the limit has made them a strategic partner
for Geodynamics.” The successful commissioning of the 1MWe Habanero
Pilot Plant was announced in July.
The 1-MW Habanero pilot plant now producing electricity in South
Australia near Innamincka is a big step for Enhanced Geothermal Systems
(EGS). The company operating it, Geodynamics, has made some remarkable
discoveries at the site that contribute to its value for the EGS world.
Australia’s Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy Tom
Koutsantonis said in a press release, “The Habanero project is a
globally significant demonstration of EGS geothermal capability.” The
Minister also noted that South Australia was the first state to offer
geothermal license areas. “The results that we've seen at Habanero
suggest that we have discovered the most productive EGS system in the
world,” CEO Geoff Ward was quoted (Geodynamics Press Release (PDF)).
“It's hotter than the other systems that are operating." The site is
also notable in that it is a greenfield site.
The complete pilot testing program at the site is scheduled to run
for about 100 days and should be finished by August. The company has yet
to find a customer in the Cooper Basin to take a material load of
power, but assuming they do, they could develop a larger plant at the
high-temperature site.
The news from Australia comes on the heels of three U.S EGS
geothermal projects, all of which are funded by the U.S. Department of
Energy. In April of this year, Ormat Technologies successfully produced
1.7 additional MW from the Desert Peak, Nevada, EGS site – making it the
first EGS project to be connected to the electricity grid. In January,
we reported via AltaRock that the company’s EGS project in Oregon had
created “three geothermal reservoirs from a single well where none
existed before.” And at the Geysers in California -the world’s largest
series of geothermal plants – a DOE investment in EGS resulted in an
additional 5-MW equivalent of geothermal steam.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/08/u-s-australian-companies-taking-giant-steps-for-global-egs-geothermal
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