University of Queensland in development agreement with US turbine producer
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia (source: flickr/ urban adventures, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
1 Feb 2011
The University of Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence signs agreement with US turbine and power plant manufacturer Verdicorp to develop technology that is expected to significantly reduce the cost of geothermal electricity.
In a release by the University of Queensland, the University’s “Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence has signed an agreement with US turbine and power plant manufacturer Verdicorp to develop technology that is expected to significantly reduce the cost of geothermal electricity.
The agreement marks the start of a collaborative project to develop technologies which will help the geothermal sector reduce the cost of geothermal electricity below that of gas-fired electricity and is expected to make geothermal power cost-competitive.
The target technologies also have the potential to increase geothermal productivity by 50 per cent for hot rock geothermal resources similar to those found in Cooper Basin, South Australia.
Centre Director Professor Hal Gurgenci said that UQ was the first Australian university to enter into a collaboration with an international manufacturer to develop and demonstrate the next generation geothermal turbine and power plant technology.
”We are breaking new ground and successful outcomes will place Queensland at the leading edge of technology in next generation turbine and heat exchanger development,” Professor Gurgenci said.
The collaborative project will develop key technologies including supercritical cycle equipment such as supercritical turbines; heat exchangers and air-cooled condensers for geothermal, solar thermal and waste heat power generation applications; and new cycle fluids and fluid mixtures suitable for supercritical cycles.
A high-pressure supercritical turbine and cycle testing facility will be built on the Pinjarra Hills campus of UQ later this year.
The facility will include a portable test plant for testing and demonstrating the benefits of the new power plant technologies at remote geothermal sites.
The Queensland Government has invested $15 million in the Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence from the Renewable Energy Fund and the Climate Change Fund established as part of the Queensland ClimateSmart 2050.”
Source: University of Queensland release
