Perth tops as geothermal city

Funding for a major Australian geothermal project and establishing Perth as one of the world’s top five 'geothermal cities' were celebrated as some of the major achievements of the Western Australian Geothermal Centre of Excellence (WAGCOE), at its conclusion last week.

Established in 2009 with funding support of AU$2.3 million from the Government of Western Australia, WAGCOE brought researchers, industry, investors and government agencies together with the shared vision of creating zero-emission geothermal cities.

WAGCOE Director Professor Klaus Regenauer-Lieb said the centre had strived to underpin a new era of energy development by developing local solutions.

"When we consider the challenges of climate change and the need to develop reliable sources of renewable energy, the work of WAGCOE is less about the last four years, than the next 50 years," Professor Regenauer-Lieb said.

Internationally, the work of WAGCOE led to the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) identifying Perth as one of the top ten (number five) "Geothermal Cities" of the world. Unlike other entries to the list, however, Perth's inclusion was unique as it was earned on the merit of plans to become the world's first geothermally-cooled city.

Among WAGCOE's other major achievements was the development of a 3-D computer model illustrating a comprehensive geological assessment of the entire Perth Basin, which will act as a template for future geothermal developments in the region.

The centre was also instrumental in securing AU$20 million of Australian Government funding for the CSIRO Geothermal Project, which aims to prove the viability of using geothermal energy on a large-scale.