Australia’s opportunity for new industries – renewable energy
Renewable energy great solution to void in industry, Pierre Mars SMH, 12 Feb 14 “…Australia has such a nascent industry, renewable energy. Further, once the capital costs are recovered, recurring costs are low: sun, wind, waves and hot rocks are free and abundant in Australia, providing low cost energy as a competitive advantage for future industry.
Unfortunately, the Abbott government’s policies on climate change will strangle this industry at birth so Australia may be importing renewable energy technologies instead of exporting them.: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-letters/renewable-energy-great-solution-to-void-in-industry-20140212-32i8t.html#ixzz2tbjZJeo6


I have been watching the hot rocks industry from the beginning of the Geodynamics project in SA (about 15 years) and I am yet to be convinced that this is either a renewable energy project or that it is ecologically sustainable.
About 15 years ago I stated that the project was both economically and ecologically risky.
Despite large government subsidies over 15 years hot rocks has still not produced commercially viable electricity in Australia and seems increasingly unlikely to do so. The share price of Geodynamics and Petratherm bear witness to their economic failure.
Ecologically the problems with hot rocks relate to:
the connection to uranium mining
the effects on water supply
the energy use and hence greenhouse gas emissions
the release of radioactive isotopes
claims to be renewable
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