Australian Birdville geothermal plant could see extension
Birdville geothermal plant, Queensland, Australia (source: pesa.com.au)
Alexander Richter
3 Feb 2014
The Birdsville geothermal plant in Queensland, Australia currently serves the electricity needs of up to a third of the local population but could provide more with a planned extension.
Australia’s first geothermal plant, a small scale binary plant built in the early 1990, could actually produce power beyond its current production with an extension.
The plant is a binary plant utilizing water of around 98 degrees Celsius from a well of 1,280 meter depth.
Company Enreco actually built the plant and is now running it for energy company Ergon Energy, a Queensland government-owned electrical utility. The plant currently serves about a quarter of the population, but could actually serve the whole city if it were to be expanded.
The production has been extended since it started in 1990 now running on a limit with regards to the output potential for the turbine. Ergon is currently seeking federal funding to expand the plant by the end of 2016.
Source: The Australian
